Mo. election season opens with candidate filing

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The 2014 campaign season in Missouri officially opened Tuesday, as scores of hopeful politicians lined up to fill out the paperwork that will put their names on the August primary ballot.

The first day of Missouri's month-long candidate filing period is typically the busiest, partly because of tradition and partly because opening-day filers get to participate in in a random drawing that determines who is listed first on the ballot for each office.

This year is expected to be a relatively mild campaign season in Missouri. There is no race for U.S. Senate or governor. The only statewide executive office on the ballot is auditor, where Republican incumbent Tom Schweich had no announced opposition heading into the start of candidate filing.

As always, the ballot will include all eight of the state's U.S. House seats and all 163 Missouri House seats, along with half of the 34 state Senate seats.

Among the first in line at the secretary of state's office Tuesday was U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner, of suburban St. Louis, who is seeking re-election to a second term. For her, candidate filing was a two-day event. Wagner hosted a reception Monday for Republican lawmakers and also attended an event with numerous other politicians at the Missouri Farm Bureau headquarters.

Then Wagner joined GOP Missouri House members at an early Tuesday caucus meeting at the state Capitol before filing her candidacy paperwork. The caucus provided a way to introduce new candidates to incumbents.

There was a "lot of talk about family and unity and how to run a civil primary on the issues," Wagner said.

Several other members of Congress, including Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, of Kansas City, and Republican Rep. Jason Smith, of Salem, also were among the first to file for re-election Tuesday.

The first person in line was state Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, a Democrat from St. Louis. She arrived at the secretary of state's office more than an hour and a half before filing began.

"It's my winning tradition," Chappelle-Nadal said. "People say showing up is half the battle. Showing up early is very important -- it's part of the work ethic. People appreciate that."

Missouri's candidacy filing runs through March 25.

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