In the Fall college towns across Missouri hold homecoming events, including parades. In an election year the crowds that gather to watch the parade are a convenient concentration of people for individuals running for public office. On off years, the crowds are still there, but there are fewer politicians.

This morning Jason Kander, the Democratic Party candidate for U.S. Senate in 2016, walked the University of Central Missouri homecoming parade, taking the opportunity to greet people and shake hands along the parade route.

Secretary of State and 2016 U.S. Senate candidate Jason Kander (D) at the University of Central Missouri Homecoming Parade, in Warrensburg – October 24, 2015

Warrensburg Daily Star Journal Editor Jack Miles spoke with Jason Kander (D) as he walked in the parade.

Interestingly, there wasn’t a republican entry in the parade that we could find. We did look.

The annual University of Central Missouri homecoming parade took place in Warrensburg today. In election years local (and sometimes statewide) politicians walk the parade and greet people along the route. The lineup for the parade starts at around 7:30 a.m. Almost everyone is waiting in place by the time the parade starts at 9:00 a.m., though the politicians usually don’t step off into the parade route until around 10:00 a.m. The wait gives those in the parade an opportunity to converse, talk, visit, schmooze, or whatever you want to call it.

This morning before the parade started Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) met Randy Huggins’ grandson for the first time.

Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) in the University of Central Missouri homecoming parade in Warrensburg this morning.

Over five years ago then candidate Vicky Hartzler (r) held a health care town hall in Warrensburg:

A health care story (September 3, 2009)

[….]

SMP: And, and you’ve told your story in a variety of, of places. Last week you attended a, another forum for, in this area. Could you tell me about that?

Randy Huggins:…Last Thursday I went to a health care information forum, I guess you could call it, Vicki Hartzler [a declared Republican candidate for the 4th Congressional District seat] held here. And she had concerns about the legislation and she had things that she liked about the legislation. Then she said she had solutions. The solution that she offered for the pre-existing condition my grandson had was, she offered to bring the family a, a hot meal. [pause] We’re hungry, but that’s not gonna help his heart, so.

SMP: And so, do you, do you feel some frustration when, when dealing with this, you know, the subject of health care reform and when you feel like people give you solutions that really aren’t solutions?

Randy Huggins: Absolutely it’s frustrating. [pause] I, I just, I don’t understand where they’re coming from. Why they can’t see the need to fix, the system’s broken. And they don’t see any need to fix it or to change it in any way. Just….

[….]

Randy Huggins and his grandson after the homecoming parade in Warrensburg – October 18, 2014.

Randy Huggins informed us that he approached Representative Hartzler (r) this morning and introduced his grandson to her. She was pleasant in her response and probably wasn’t yet making the connection.

He then told her this was the grandson who had the congenital heart defect for which his daughter’s health insurance denied coverage because they considered it a preexisting condition. He added that this was the grandson for which she had suggested people could bring a hot meal to the family to help out. He told us that she was somewhat rattled and responded about the propriety of making it political.

Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) and the republican party made it political in 2009. She continues to make it political and makes the consequences of losing health care very real for millions of Americans ever time she votes to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. This morning Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) had to face just one story in that reality.

Previously:

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r): the Affordable Care Act and what repeal really means to one family (July 13, 2012)

In 1994, then U.S. Senate candidate John Ashcroft walked in the homecoming parade in Warrensburg. At the time, as a candidate, he repeatedly avoided expressing any opinion on Amendment 7, which was on the November ballot and which would have had devastating economic impact on institutions like the university. The crowd at the parade knew this. And they were going to let him know something else. John Ashcroft was loudly and continually heckled by individuals over the entire parade route.

The sole republican entry in the parade. Apparently there were no elephants available to pull the wagon.

Irony. Cue the regular commenter.

Via Twitter today, from Representative Vicky Hartzler (r):

Rep. Vicky Hartzler ‏@RepHartzler

Beautiful day for Homecoming at MU and UCM! Go Tigers! Good luck, Mules! 10:04 AM – 26 Oct 13

During “off” years in the election cycle fewer politicians participate in the populist tradition of walking in a college homecoming parade. ‘Tis the season, and since it’s an off year, not too many politicians participated in today’s parade in Warrensburg. Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) didn’t walk in the University of Central Missouri parade (as far as I could tell). We haven’t heard from anyone who saw her at the University of Missouri homecoming parade in Columbia (not that we checked with any diligence). We suspect if she did she would have posted a cheery blurb with a picture via Twitter.

Do you think if Representative Hartzler (r) had walked in the University of Central Missouri parade she would have heard from constituents who weren’t happy about her vote to keep the government shut down? You betcha.

Interestingly, Representatives Denny Hoskins (r) and Representative Dean Dohrman (r), who voted to screw the University of Central Missouri, didn’t walking in today’s parade either.

Do you think if Representatives Hoskins (r) and Dohrman (r) had walked in the parade they would have heard from constituents who were unhappy about their lack of support for the welfare of the university? You betcha.

If you heckle a politician in a parade and they’re not there to hear it because they were busy making potato soup, brats and chocolate sheet cake, will they notice your displeasure?

Gary Grigsby (D), a candidate for the 51st Legislative District did walk in today’s parade. He was greeted warmly by individuals in the crowd.

Gary Grigsby, the Democratic Party candidate in the 51st Legislative District.

Enthusiastic party identification by legislative candidates is rare these days.

Consultants tell candidates to not place their party identification on their signs. It becomes a self fulfilling prophecy then, doesn’t it?

Previously:

Campaign Finance: Grigsby (D) and Dohrman (r) in the 51st Legislative District – 3rd Quarter 2013 (October 16, 2013)

Walking (and driving) in a homecoming parade… (October 13, 2012)

Nice day for a parade… (October 23, 2010)

Homecoming in Warrensburg (October 25, 2008)

Missouri Secretary of State (and U.S. Senate candidate) Robin Carnahan (D) stopped in Warrensburg this afternoon to visit with voters at the UCM homecoming football game. This was the third of four campaign stops for the day – spanning the state from east to west.

Arriving at UCM’s stadium.

The campaign bus arrived at the stadium at approximately 3:15 p.m., trailed by a car with a reporter and a photographer for the New York Times (as I understood it – I was shooting photographs and the Times folks weren’t engaging me in small talk).

Foreground, left to right, former State Representative Deleta Williams (D), Secretary of State Robin Carnahan,

Juan Carlos Antolinez, Robin Carnahan’s spouse.

Two campaign staffers (right) accompany the group to the stadium entrance.

Juan Carlos Antolinez and Robin Carnahan share a conversation with a student worker in the stadium elevator.

Robin Carnahan spent about an hour at the stadium visiting with folks attending the game. A staffer politely reminded everyone that it was time to leave for the next stop and the traveling party walked back to their campaign bus for the final leg of the trip to Kansas City.

At this stage of any campaign it’s one thing after another at breakneck speed.