President Obama and Governor Mitt Romney will square off for a second time tonight in New York. A University Professor says this race is still neck-in-neck right now, if not in Missouri.
Political science professor Peverill Squire says even though Missouri voted nearly 50-50 in the 2008 presidential election, both sides are certain this time that our state will go red. He says Obama and Romney are focusing on the states that have been identified as deciding the election. However, he says there is one Missouri race that will have nationwide implications — U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill versus Congressman Todd Akin.
He says he thinks the chances of the Repblicans picking up McCaskill’s seat have dropped since Akin’s controversial statements on rape and abortion, and he says that could have nationwide implications.
Democrats nationwide are using Akin’s stance to sway women voters, Squire says, and some moderate suburban republicans might have become uncomfortable with Akin’s position on women’s health issues, generating concern for how they relate to the party as a whole.
Yet some other political experts are saying women voters can make the difference in swing states in the presidential election, and that polls indicate woman are giving Governor Mitt Romney an edge over Obama. Either way, the scramble to get women voters on their side is likely to be evident in the coming weeks.
President Obama and Governor Romney square off for their second debate tonight at 8 p.m. Central Time. CNN’s Candy Crowley will moderate the debate, which will be a Town Hall Forum in New York at Hampstead University. The format is to include foreign and domestic policy.
The town meeting participants will be undecided voters selected by the Gallup Organization
Squire says the Obama-Romney race is still too close to call.