Independent U.S. Senate canidate Craig O'Dear believes the two-party system has failed the nation.

During a stop in Cape Girardeau on Thursday, the Kansas City attorney said he believes he can get elected and help change politics in Washington.

America's two-party system is "dividing us not uniting us, ignoring issues rather than dealing with issues," he said during a sit-down interview with the Southeast Missourian.

O'Dear said Missourians are tired of the actions of the Republican and Democratic parties.

"The world is changing, and the people are sick of those two parties controlling everything," he said.

O'Dear said he is part of Unite America, a movement of independents who offer a centrist view and seek to solve issues through compromise.

"We have two warring parties that control the United States Senate and they decided it is more important to fight each other, blame each other, make each other look bad than to deal with our problems, and that is not going to change electing one more 'R' or one more 'D.'"

Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Congress "don't talk to each other, they talk at each other," he said.

O'Dear said businesses solve problems. "If we could get our government to working half as good as the average business in this country, it would be transformative," he said.

Lawmakers should be able to compromise on issues such as immigration, saying a majority of Americans support a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants who were brought here as children and have grown up in the United States. They also support greater border security, he said.

O'Dear said he favors the Senate rule requiring at least 60 votes to move forward with legislation because it can help "force people to compromise."

A former Republican, O'Dear said he believes he can win. "I've got the winning message. It is just I have to get it out to the voters," he said.

He said he has been raising money, and expects to spend $750,000 to $1 million campaigning for the Senate seat.

Still, he said he knows Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill and GOP opponent Josh Hawley will vastly outspend him.

But O'Dear said he believes he can win with a campaign that focuses heavily on using social media to get out his message.

"Keep in mind, I only need 35 percent to win," he said.

Both McCaskill and Hawley are disliked by many voters, he said, adding "both of them are under water."

But O'Dear said he is not bashing his opponents.

"I am not running against anybody. I am running for something that I believe is missing in our national politics today," he said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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