Charlton Heston didn't part the Red Sea Wednesday.

But the stage presence of the actor who played Moses in "The Ten Commandments" generated thousands of dollars for Jo Ann Emerson's congressional campaign.

The Oscar-winning actor made a brief stop in Cape Girardeau Wednesday afternoon to support the independent-Republican candidate.

He arrived at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport at 2:35 p.m. aboard a private jet. He and Emerson spoke briefly with reporters before attending a fund-raiser at the airport restaurant.

Heston, 72, is one of Hollywood's most outspoken conservatives. He regularly stumps for candidates around the country.

Two years ago Heston campaigned for 32 candidates for U.S. House and Senate seats in 26 states. All but four of those candidates won election, he said.

Heston said his visits generate publicity and money for candidates' campaigns.

About 50 people attended Wednesday's fund-raiser where people paid $1,000 to have their picture taken with Heston.

Emerson said such fund-raisers are necessary to combat the money being spent by Big Labor to defeat her.

Heston has been involved in labor unions much of his life. In the past, he was a delegate at AFL-CIO meetings.

But he said it is wrong for labor unions to require its members to pay dues to fund political campaigns.

The Screen Actors Guild is the only union that doesn't do so, Heston said.

Heston won the best actor award in 1959 for his role in "Ben-Hur."

His movie, "The Ten Commandments," was a favorite of Emerson's late husband, Bill.

Bill Emerson served as 8th District congressman for 16 years. He died of lung cancer earlier this year.

Bill Emerson and Heston knew each other through National Rifle Association activities.

Jo Ann Emerson is seeking to succeed her late husband in Congress.

Emily Firebaugh, a Farmington Democrat, is Emerson's chief rival in both the November general election and the special election to fill the unexpired term.

Heston described Firebaugh as a "pretty, radical liberal."

The Firebaugh camp responded to the attack late Wednesday afternoon.

"Jo Ann Emerson and Charlton Heston have two things in common: Neither is from Missouri and neither understands Missouri," said Firebaugh spokesman Marc Powers.

Emerson, her voice strained from a cold, said Heston's visit was a boost to her campaign.

"Mr. Heston has earned his stripes through the years as a top-notch conservative steeped in common sense values and ideals.

"He has gained political notoriety as a long-standing supporter of our cherished Constitutional rights to self defense and bearing arms," she said.

Heston said the Republican-led Congress has taken major steps in downsizing government. It has cut spending by $53 billion in the last two years, and eliminated three committees and 29 subcommittees, he said.

The outdated practice of daily delivering ice to lawmakers' offices has been eliminated, he said.

Heston acknowledged that few people in the film industry are willing to publicly state they are conservatives.

But he said, "I think there are more conservatives in the Hollywood closet than homosexuals."

Heston was once a Democrat. He campaigned for presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson and later for John F. Kennedy.

Heston said President Kennedy was more conservative than today's Democrats.

"He was the first president in this century to cut taxes," Heston said. Ronald Reagan was the second.

Heston said he became a Republican because the Democratic Party shifted sharply to the left.

Heston's Cape Girardeau stop was sandwiched between political fund-raisers Wednesday in Little Rock, Ark., and Wichita, Kan.