On the Campaign Trail

Intro: As Kenny Hulshof and Jay Nixon hit the campaign trail across Missouri, enthusiasm and rallying from the crowds propel the candidates into fiery speeches and proposals for change. Rebecca Layne has more from the campaign trail. RunTime:2:57
OutCue: SOC

On the campaign trail, candidates develop a symbiotic relationship with their voters. They feed off of the raucous noise and shouts of approval from the crowd while the voters wait for the chance to explode with approval for their gubernatorial choice.

Campaign stops are also a time to highlight where the candidate stands on issues and to focus on the opposition's stance.

Republican candidate Kenny Hulshof spoke to a crowd in Columbia about Nixon's ethics, making sure to bring up the 2006 pay-for-play scandal allegations that claimed Nixon awarded political donors for their support

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Run Time: 00:24

Description: Yesterday during this debate, he talked about ethics. I started talking about the big wedge between us and the integrity that I try to bring to my job every single day and his pay-for-play scandal. And he said, 'You know, my predecessor went to prison.' And I said if that's your yardstick, that's not a very high stump to jump. (laughter and applause)

While Hulshof focused on ethics, Democratic candidate Jay Nixon told a crowd in Moberly about his opponent's Washington politics.

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Description: Our plans talk about investing in people, in education, in training, good health care. Their plan steps back, helps the super rich, worries about Wall Street not Main Street and puts us where we are right here, losing more jobs in Missouri in the last two years than the eight states that touch us.

When the topic turned to issues, Jay Nixon rallied the crowd about Hulshof's inappropriate use of public money.

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Description: My opponent supports all that stuff: take public money and give it to private schools. That's wrong folks. (clapping) There's nothing wrong with private schools, nothing wrong with having it out there at all. But if you're CEO of a company, if you're running the state of Missouri, you got to understand what your limitations are dollars. When we start bleeding public money off into these private schools, if we would start to do that from K-12 level, we wouldn't come back. You guys are from a rural area, you know what it's like. One drop of water goes over an earthen dam, that dam is breached.

While Nixon spoke about Hulshof's use of public money for private schools, Hulshof roused the Columbia crowd by bringing up Nixon's voting record.

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Description: You know that in congress I have never ever, ever, ever to the press, ever voted for a tax increase ever on your behalf. In fact, I've thought to let you keep a little bit more of your money in 1.6 trillion dollars in tax relief. Jay Nixon, on the other hand, has voted for every tax increase he ever has a chance to. Now I don't know about you but I think that's the wrong way Jay.

With the race to election for the next governor approaching the final lap in Missouri, both Republican and Democratic candidates are distinguishing themselves and their plans from their opponents in last-minute campaign-trail rallies across the state. Reporting from Jefferson City, I'm Rebecca Layne...KSMU.