Missouri House Race Spotlight - 2nd District

The election to represent Missouri's 2nd House District is shaping up to be one of the most competitive races of 2010.

The 2nd takes in a slice of Northern Missouri including virtually all of Adair County (excepting one precinct that falls into the 1st),  all of Putnam County, and over half of Sullivan County.  Adair County is centered on Kirksville, a city of over 16,000 that is probably best known as the home of Truman State University.   Around two-thirds of Adair County's total population live in the Kirksville city limits.  Adair casts about 60% of the votes in the 2nd, with Putnam casting around 30% and Sullivan accounting for around 10%.

Kirksville, with the presence of Truman State, tends to have some liberal leanings.  Adair County as a whole almost mirrored Missouri statewide in the 2008 Presidential election, voting for John McCain 49%-48% over Barack Obama.  Putnam County is heavily Republican both locally and nationally.  In the 2010 primary there were 1,314 Republican votes cast in Putnam County for 2nd district representative and only 65 Democrat votes for that office.  The Sullivan County portion of the district is a mixed bag; it tends to vote Republican in national elections, but often supports Democrats for local office.

In 2006 when popular Republican incumbent Bob Behnen was term limited, Kirksville nurse and Truman State Nursing Professor Rebecca McClanahan was elected to represent the 2nd district by a 51%-49% margin.  McClanahan has focused on a triumvirate of issues important to the 2nd during her two terms in office: health care, higher education, and agriculture.  She has voted a liberal line on most cultural issues.  McClanahan was re-elected 55%-45% in 2008, carrying Adair County by over 1,500 votes, carrying the Sullivan County portion of the district, but losing in Putnam County.

Republican Zach Wyatt will be McClanahan's 2010 opponent.  Wyatt grew up in Novinger and Green Castle in rural Adair County.  After graduating from Adair County High School, Wyatt served in the U.S. Air Force where he served an an Airborne Chechen/Russian/Ukrainian linguist.  For two years, Wyatt taught Ukrainian at Royal Air Force Base in the United Kingdom.  Wyatt is running on a conservative platform emphasizing education, lower taxes, and conservative social causes.

In the August primary, Wyatt received approximately 800 more votes than McClanahan, which is testament to the enthusiasm gap between Republicans and Democrats heading into the November elections.  Currently, McClanahan is probably a slight favorite due to her base in the educational and medical communities in Kirksville.  However, Wyatt is an energetic candidate with strong credentials.  In what is shaping up to be a Republican year in Missouri, Wyatt certainly has a chance to unseat the two-term incumbent.