Why Kansas & Missouri don't matter to the presidential campaigns this election

Video
Photo

Regular Photo Size

Posted: 10/03/2012

By: Mitch Weber

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - It's no secret both campaigns want your vote. But right now, there are between nine and 11 states considered up for grabs, and Kansas and Missouri aren't among them.

The latest polls show Missouri is leaning more toward Mitt Romney. Even before Wednesday night's debate, political analysts said the candidates were talking directly to Independent voters in the swing states.

"Their answers are not spontaneous -- they're actually well-prepared," explained Beth Miller, assistant professor of political science at University of Missouri-Kansas City. "They have a set of answers that apply to these kinds of questions, and then they may have to change them a little bit on the fly just to be actually answering the question that's put before them."

There are 110 electoral votes in contention in the states that are still undecided.

Political analyst Steve Glorioso said that means Kansas and Missouri aren't considered players in this election. He believes the campaigns aren't even trying to woo Missouri voters in the debates.

"You don't see the TV ads, you don't have many people knocking on your doors. I was in Colorado last weekend...it was commercials back to back to back all evening long between Romney and Obama," he said.

Glorioso said Missouri or Kansas would matter if the electoral college voting system were not in place. But it would take a constitutional amendment to change that.