As the presidential political campaigns heat up, we’re seeing more and more attention paid to Missouri with the candidates visiting the state. And, there’s a lot of “behind-the-scenes” work that goes into one of these visits. The decisions are made at the national level, but a good deal of the work for a campaign swing through a state is left to local officials. Such was the case as Vice President Dick Cheney and Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry both visited Missouri last week. May Scheve-Reardon, the Chair of the Missouri Democratic Party, says 48 hours’ notice is all that’s given in many cases … and there’s a lot of work to be done dealing with everything from invitations to security operations. Former Republican National Committee Chairman Marc Racicot, who heads up the Bush-Cheney ’04 National Campaign, says messages will often be tailored to certain regions, focusing on how the opponent’s plans might not be in the best interests of a certain region of the state. Missouri Democrats and Republicans expect many more visits – and a lot of hard work – between now and November.
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