Mo. Gov. Nixon, challenger Spence both stress jobs

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon touts over $1.5 billion in spending cuts, the elimination of 4,300 government jobs and four years of balancing a budget without tax increases during the nation’s worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

Perhaps that explains why Nixon, a Democrat, has been ahead in the polls in a tax-averse state that typically tilts toward Republicans.