By John Celock
Young candidates are on the move with one U.S. Senate candidate traveling the state in six days and a congressional candidate pledging to walk 100 miles in a week.
Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander, the presumptive Democratic nominee against U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt (R) in next year’s race, announced Friday that he completed a six day tour of the 114 counties in Missouri, saying he talked to residents about how to change Congress. Alex Law, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross (D-N.J.) in next year’s Democratic primary, announced Friday that he will be conducting a 100 mile walking tour of his district’s 52 towns next week.
Both Kander, 33, and Law, 24, have made voter contact major points of their races. Kander, who has been gaining national attention in his Senate bid, has been known for his statewide travel since being elected secretary of state in 2012. Kander said he wanted to travel the state in order to discuss issues relating to Congress with Show Me State residents.
“Congress has near record-low approval ratings, so I hit the road to hear from Missourians first-hand about what they want changed in Washington,” Kander said in blog post on his website. “Too many politicians just talk at their constituents and don’t listen, so I went to every county in the state over the past six days to hear what Missourians really think about Congress. Their message was clear: Washington is completely broken and Missourians want a fresh start in Congress.”
Kander made door-to-door campaigning a key part of his successful run for the Missouri House of Representatives in 2008. During that race, Kander, an Army veteran, would routinely wear his Army boots and take photos with people, which he would later mail back to them as a reminder of his visit.
Law, who says that his campaign has knocked on 17,000 doors in his campaign to date, has made voter contact a key part of his uphill battle against Norcross, the brother of South Jersey Democratic leader George Norcross. Earlier this year, Law announced that he was quitting his job in order to focus fulltime on his campaign.