27 candidates file for Missouri presidential primaries

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Voters will have plenty of choices in Missouri's presidential primaries.

Twenty-seven candidates have signed up for the Feb. 5 primaries. The deadline to do so was Tuesday evening.

The list includes all the leading contenders from the Democratic and Republican parties -- Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson and Mike Huckabee.

It also includes numerous lesser-known candidates.

Anyone who paid a $1,000 filing fee to his or her party could qualify for the primary.

The ballot will include 12 Republicans, nine Democrats and six Libertarians.

The total number of candidates is up by 50 percent compared with the 2000 presidential primaries, which marked the last time there was no incumbent on the ballot. That year, there were 18 candidates from five political parties, the secretary of state's office said.