Make sure to vote Tuesday in Missouri presidential primary

Missouri’s presidential primary is only days always, but the political landscape is gaining a bit more focus.

Following poor performances in South Carolina, South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar ended their campaigns and endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden. After a dismal Super Tuesday performance, billionaire Michael Bloomberg called it quits and endorsed Biden. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren dropped out Thursday but declined to endorse another candidate.

With the field significantly narrowed, the Democratic contest appears to come down to Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders.

The delegate count shows Biden with 627 and Sanders with 551. Securing the nomination will require 1,991 delegates. Whether one candidate will be able to get to that number before the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee this summer is unknown, and some still believe a brokered convention is likely. We shall see.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has rolled through the early states as the incumbent. But the interesting consideration is his strong performance compared to previous incumbent presidents and, in some states, to the entire Democratic field of candidates. Turnout on the Republican side has been strong, and the president has an advantage with the strong economy.

Cape Girardeau County Clerk Kara Clark Summers told the Southeast Missourian recently she originally believed turnout could be as high as 40% but added with all the attention given to Super Tuesday, Missouri’s primary could be overlooked. We hope that’s not the case.

Regardless of your political affiliation, we hope you will cast a ballot on Tuesday. Voting shouldn’t be taken for granted. And participating in our political process is important.