<p class="p1">Polls in Missouri consistently show GOP Sen. <a shape="rect" class="memberLink" href="https://data.rollcall.com/members/274?rel=memberLink" title="Click to view member info in a new window" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Roy Blunt</a> with an advantage over his Democratic challenger, Secretary of State Jason Kander, but some Republicans are concerned that the race could get tighter.</p><p class="p1">And the race could be bellwether for whether Republicans have a bad night or a terrible one.</p><p class="p2"><span class="s2">D</span><span class="s2">emocrats remain confident in the bio of their candidate, a 35-year-old attorney who served a tour in Afghanistan with the Army National Guard, in contrast to a longtime politician's résumé.</span></p><p class="p2"><span class="s2">Democrats have also been critical of Blunt’s <a shape="rect" href="https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/ad-hammers-blunts-lobbyist-family-members">connections to lobbyists</a>, including family members. But Kander’s wife once listed “assisting in lobbying efforts” on her professional <a shape="rect" href="https://themissouritimes.com/33505/aspirational-biography-raises-questions-about-diana-kanders-desire-to-lobby-in-increasingly-personal-u-s-senate-race/">biography</a>. Democrats noted that she has never been a registered lobbyist but awkwardly called it an “aspirational bio.”</span></p><p class="p3"><span class="s2">[<strong><em><a shape="rect" href="https://data.rollcall.com/electionguide/senate">Roll Call's 2016 Election Guide: Senate</a></em></strong>]</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Kander stands to benefit from less of a focus on defeating <a shape="rect" class="memberLink" href="https://data.rollcall.com/members/373?rel=memberLink" title="Click to view member info in a new window" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rob Portman</a> in Ohio or <a shape="rect" class="memberLink" href="https://data.rollcall.com/members/32335?rel=memberLink" title="Click to view member info in a new window" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Marco Rubio</a> in Florida because it would free up party funds to be spent elsewhere, including Missouri. <a shape="rect" href="https://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/senate-democrats-north-carolina-missouri-228021">Politico</a> first announced the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee independent expenditure arm’s $1.5 million ad buy against Blunt. Democratic strategists are more excited about defeating Blunt than <a shape="rect" class="memberLink" href="https://data.rollcall.com/members/26?rel=memberLink" title="Click to view member info in a new window" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">John McCain</a> in Arizona. </span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">It’s hard to see Blunt running behind Donald Trump, who is on track to win Missouri in the presidential race. But it remains to be seen whether persistent Democratic attacks will damage the senator.</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">We’re changing The <a shape="rect" href="https://rothenberggonzales.com/">Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report</a>/Roll Call race rating from Republican Favored to <a shape="rect" href="https://data.rollcall.com/electionguide/senate/MO/">Leans Republican</a>.</span></p><div id="cqrcPostAdditional"></div>
