SENATE HOPEFUL WANTS TO KEEP JAY NIXON OUT

Andrew Ostrowski quit his job at the local Procter & Gamble Co. plant at the end of March so he could campaign full time for the U.S. Senate.

The Democratic candidate estimates he has spent about $3,500 of his own money in his effort to win Tuesday's primary.

Ostrowski is one of the four, largely unknown candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Missouri. The fifth and favored candidate is Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon.

Nixon's well-financed campaign has garnered all the headlines, but that doesn't deter Ostrowski, who claims he has a chance to win the primary.

Ostrowski operates his campaign from his Cape Girardeau apartment with the help of his fiancee. He has spent his money on fliers and even advertised on a Poplar Bluff radio station.

"We spent several hundred dollars on mailings," Ostrowski said.

But much of his money has been spent on gasoline to drive around the state.

He has handed out fliers at fairs and festivals and appeared at about two dozen candidate forums and Democratic Party rallies.

He has been in eight of Missouri's nine congressional districts. Ostrowski said he hasn't campaigned in the 7th District of southwest Missouri because it is heavily Republican.

Ostrowski, who was raised in St. Louis County, said he enjoys campaigning in farming towns. In such places, people are polite to the candidates, he said. "They clap for everyone who talks."

Ostrowski has faxed press releases to newspapers around the state.

He has a computer Web site and has used his computer to send e-mails to various targeted groups, including Republican Party chairmen and vice chairmen at the county level. Ostrowski said he was reaching out to the GOP in hopes of getting some Republicans to cross over and vote for him on Tuesday.

Ostrowski, who once considered becoming a priest, is a staunch opponent of abortion. He favors a constitutional amendment to outlaw abortions. He said Nixon, on the other hand, supports abortion rights.

"I feel I have a moral obligation to keep Jay Nixon out of office," said Ostrowski.

He views his campaign more as a mission than a political endeavor.

He supports school choice and home schooling. He favors a voucher system that would make it easier for parents to enroll their children in private schools.

He wants to exempt an individual's first $25,000 in wages from the federal income tax. Ostrowski first proposed that idea two years ago when he worked as campaign manager for then-GOP congressional candidate Richard Kline.

Kline is again running for the 8th District congressional seat but this time as a Democrat. Ostrowski has endorsed Kline.

The two men plan to go trout fishing together after Tuesday's primary.

Ostrowski's name is listed third among the five Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate on the ballot. He said he may pick up some votes simply by being in the middle of the ballot.

He has lived in Cape Girardeau since 1994.

He graduated from Southeast Missouri State University last year with a bachelor's degree in general studies.

Ostrowski views himself as a conservative. He said he doesn't agree with all the positions of either the Democratic or Republican parties.

Ostrowski said the campaign will have been worth it even if he doesn't win. In that case, he said, he may eventually run for the Missouri Senate.

He said he may run as an independent when state Sen. Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, leaves the 27th District seat.