8TH DISTRICT RACE

"The odds are long. But long odds never stopped Bill Emerson. And long odds won't stop me."

With those inspirational words, Jo Ann Emerson announced that she will run for her late husband's 8th District seat in Congress. The large and enthusiastic crowd that turned out for her announcement Wednesday morning represented no fewer than 10 southern Missouri counties. The buoyant welcome these supporters gave her, her mother-in-law and three of the four daughters present had to be a great send-off to this bold new adventure in the life of the Emerson family.

The same hotel had been the scene, just one week before, of another room packed with witnesses to the announcement of likely Democratic nominee Emily Firebaugh of Farmington. Firebaugh, a former teacher and newspaper publisher and current timber landowner, is the energetic daughter of a longtime family of Cape Girardeau Democrats. At her announcement she lined up her party's heavyweight endorsers, from Gov. Mel Carnahan through other state officeholders, who were joined by former Gov. Warren Hearnes. It was unusual to see so many leading Democrats publicly endorsing a candidate prior to the August primary election, but then this is hardly an ordinary political year. The death of the incumbent congressman has made it anything but that.

With her announced independent candidacy, Jo Ann Emerson does indeed face long odds, but no steeper than those her undefeated late husband faced time and again. She can be expected to receive the endorsement of the 8th District Republican committee for the special election to fill out the unexpired remainder of her husband's term, which the governor is expected to call for the same day as the Nov. 5 general election. It is in the general election for the full, two-year term that Emerson's name will be on the ballot as an independent candidate.

Fresh from her announcement rally, Emerson traveled to Poplar Bluff, where Wednesday evening the 8th District trustees of the Missouri Farm Bureau Political Action Committee gathered to interview all candidates and make endorsements. They promptly voted 23-2 to endorse Emerson, whose husband they backed in 1980 and every two years since. Farm Bureau trustees hailing from each of the 26 8th district counties are a grassroots force to be reckoned with. Their surprise backing of longshot Bill Emerson in his first race can fairly be said to have been decisive in that effort.

Firebaugh's platform -- support for term limits, gun owners' rights, property rights and other issues -- is testimony to the conservative nature of post-Bill Emerson 8th District politics. It is remarkable that a Democrat would take positions this conservative. Whether voters will agree to hand Bill Emerson's seat to a person whose first vote will be to elect current minority leader Richard Gephardt speaker of the House is on the table. The liberal Mr. Gephardt is a Firebaugh patron, and behind the scenes, his people are weighing in heavily on her behalf. Don't be surprised if that patronage becomes an issue in this fall's congressional race.

The untimely death of an incumbent, followed by the entry of his widow as an independent, and possibly still more independent or write-in candidacies. All taking place against the backdrop of Missouri's being a key swing state in the presidential contest. Should be an interesting fall.