GOP RACE FOR LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR HOLDS INTEREST

The Republican primary for lieutenant governor will have at least two faces familiar across Missouri: First is the most recent unsuccessful GOP nominee for that post, state Sen. Bill Kenney of Lee's Summit. The other familiar face is former congressman and state treasurer Wendell Bailey of Willow Springs. Rounding out the contest is St. Charles County executive Joe Ortwerth, a former 10-year House member who is known for social conservatism and especially for his passionate devotion to the pro-life cause.

Like Ortwerth, Kenney is a conservative solidly within the GOP mainstream. The colorful and energetic Bailey was long known for the same quality, at least until recent years when tactical considerations in the pursuit of various offices led him to announce that he was abandoning his former pro-life position to embrace the pro-choice side.

Bailey's announced intentions are to exploit this perceived opening to split the conservative (and undoubtedly majority) vote in the GOP primary between Kenney and Ortwerth and win through this division. Whether this will work is a question that will unfold over the days between now and the August primary. There is reason, however, to doubt that this will prove successful. The former statewide officeholder's most recent electoral venture was a 1996 attempt to win an open state Senate seat in Southwest Missouri. He lost narrowly in the GOP primary in this overwhelmingly Republican district.

On the plus side for Bailey, he is well-known in Missouri Republican circles for his tireless grassroots campaigning. Kenney, a former all-pro quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs, has run statewide four years ago and made many friends in that uphill race. Ortwerth, a native of the City of St. Louis, has a strong base in heavily Republican St. Charles County. It should be an interesting race.