AG candidate meets with student Republicans

Ed Martin is tacking another layer onto his campaign strategy by acting as chairman of the Missouri Republican Party's "Victory" operation, a role the Republican attorney general candidate said is usually reserved for those who aren't on a ballot.

"Others had tougher primaries," Martin said during a short meeting Wednesday at U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson's Cape Girardeau campaign headquarters with a small group of local GOP representatives and members of Southeast Missouri State University's College Republicans. Martin garnered 71 percent of the vote in the August primary to defeat Livingston County Prosecuting Attorney Adam Warren. He will challenge Democrat incumbent Chris Koster on Nov. 6.

The Victory 2012 campaign is being used by GOP officials as a tool to organize around the state for the fall elections.

A release before the event from the Republican National Committee said Martin would join "Young Americans for Romney" for a discussion of "the failure of President Obama's economic policies and the need for the leadership of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan who know we can do better."

"Better," used by round after round of Republicans in the past few days, comes from a question posed by the Romney campaign last week about whether Americans are better off now than they were four years ago. The question originally comes from 1980, when President Ronald Reagan asked it in relation to President Jimmy Carter's performance.

Martin addressed the question briefly Wednesday when he said "no one has said we are better off" when asked but stuck mostly to an issue he alleges Missouri Democrats are "ignoring," which is election fraud.

Martin said Republicans in Missouri need to focus on access for all eligible voters and the integrity of elections in order to succeed in November.

"If perception is that our systems aren't working well enough, then people lose confidence in elections," Martin said.

In Jefferson City on Tuesday, Martin criticized Koster over the ballot summary for a health insurance measure and spoke on other election issues. He said Wednesday that "thankfully the judge has got it right," referring to the order by a Cole County judge last week that a revised version of the measure be used after several Republican officials filed a lawsuit. Koster declined to appeal the judge's decision.

Martin said his involvement with the operation helps him to be "out and about" more and that he is funding travel to related appearances with his own campaign funds. He had two other stops in Cape Girardeau and Perryville planned Wednesday.

College Republicans president Madelyn Enzmann said membership in the university's club is seeing a large increase this fall, with between 50 and 60 members, as normally happens during an election year. Members of the group were conducting survey calls related to the November elections during Martin's visit.

eragan@semissourian.com

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616 Broadway, Cape Girardeau, MO