Presidential hopefuls avoiding Missouri despite early primary

WASHINGTON -- Democratic presidential hopefuls have been making frequent visits to three of the four states that will hold the earliest contests in 2004 -- but not to Missouri.

Missouri, which moved its primary up to Feb. 3, 2004, is the home state of House Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt, one of the half dozen or so Democrats believed to be considering a run for president.

State lawmakers included the change in a broad election overhaul in May and the governor signed it in June. That means Iowa will lead off the presidential selection process in late January, followed by New Hampshire a week later and then South Carolina and Missouri a week after that.

"This moves some of the emphasis from Iowa and New Hampshire to Missouri," said state Democratic chairman Joe Carmichael. "Missouri is always a bellwether state."

Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle has visited Missouri a couple of times in this election cycle on behalf of Sen. Jean Carnahan, who is in a tight re-election race with Republican Jim Talent.

But aides to other Democrats considering a presidential run say they may not rush to schedule trips there because it is Gephardt's home state.

"These are discussions and speculations that need to take place after the 2002 elections," said Erik Smith, a Gephardt spokesman.

Didn't help Harkin

In 1992, Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa easily won the presidential caucuses in his home state. But his opponents generally stayed away, and the home-state victory didn't ignite Harkin's campaign.

Still, an early victory in the Missouri primary could benefit Gephardt by inflating his delegate totals, if he decides to run.

Political advisers to several leading Democrats expressed surprise upon hearing that the primary had been moved up.

The change of dates was introduced in the legislature by state Rep. Robert Clayton of Hannibal, who said he did it to increase the state's profile in the political process.

"It seems every year, more and more states move their primaries up," Clayton said Monday. "Missouri is a small state in terms of its Electoral College numbers. I thought that if we are to play a role, we needed to move up earlier."

Another state considering a move earlier on the calendar, Arizona, has been getting a lot of visits from potential candidates.