Left at the Altar, Missouri Seeks New Groom at the Last Minute

[isbister]

T. LOUIS, Feb. 1 — Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts seems poised to win the bulk of Missouri's 74 delegates, the richest prize in the seven Democratic presidential caucuses and primaries scheduled for Tuesday.

A victory for Mr. Kerry here, foreshadowed by all polls and expected by most local politicians, would bring the senator benefits well beyond the mere continuation of the winning streak he began two weeks ago in Iowa and continued last week in New Hampshire. Even if Senator John Edwards of North Carolina wins in South Carolina, where the race is close, that might be written off by many Democrats as a consequence of his having been born in the state.

Missouri is far from Mr. Kerry's base in Massachusetts. It is also one of the first states on the electoral calendar with large metropolitan areas — St. Louis and Kansas City and their suburbs will account for nearly three-quarters of the vote — and populous rural areas, too. It has a sizable African-American minority (11.2 percent) and a growing Hispanic population.

In brief, it has most of the pieces of the American puzzle...

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/02/politics/campaign/02MISS.html