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U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, along with his wife Abigail, spoke with Republican U.S. Senate hopeful John Brunner and his wife Jan in Springfield, Mo., on Aug. 4, 2012. (PoliticMo Photo)

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Just three days before the Aug. 7 primary, southwest Republicans gathered in support of their primary candidates at the final major gathering of party faithful before the election.

Candidates for U.S. Senate, governor, secretary of state, and lieutenant governor worked the crowd at a barbecue hosted by the Greene County Republican Party Saturday night in Springfield. Candidates shook hands and visited with supporters, many of whom were sporting supportive t-shirts or stickers.

While the candidates were focused on securing support, the party’s leadership was focused quick unity after Tuesday’s election. U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, the highest elected Republican in the state, said the inter-party debates are not “nearly as important” as the general election battles.

“This part of the campaign is over on Tuesday,” he said, urging party faithful to actively support the ticket of Republican nominees.

Blunt, like his colleagues in the congressional delegation and other statewide office holders, has not endorsed candidates in any of the statewide primaries.

All three Republicans running for U.S. Senate — including Todd Akin, John Brunner, and Sarah Steelman — were given ten seconds to say their name for the crowd. Akin said, “I’m too conservative,” channeling an ad being run statewide by their Democratic rival Claire McCaskill’s campaign. Brunner told voters he wants to be a “citizen senator,” while Steelman reiterated her message that “the status quo has got to go.”

On the day after a large rally with former vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, Steelman spent much of her day campaigning in southwest Missouri. Steelman stopped and greeted voters at the Webb City Farmer’s Market and a Joplin doughnut shop, where many patrons recognized her from her television ads and her Palin endorsement.

(Getty Images via Daylife)

— As early supporters of pending anti-piracy legislation flaked on Wednesday following heavy push back online, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D., is apparently still undecided.

According to her office, McCaskill is evaluating the various pieces of legislation, including the “Stop Online Piracy Act” and “Protect IP,” as provisions of the legislation are in flux.

“While Claire wants to make sure we can catch the frauds and cheats, she also has real concerns about limiting the freedom of the Internet,” McCaskill spokesman John LaBombard told PoliticMo. “She will continue to evaluate as the provisions are finalized.”

McCaskill’s political opponents, Republican U.S. Senate candidates Sarah Steelman and John Brunner, both announced their opposition to the legislation on Wednesday.

Sen. Roy Blunt, R., an original cosponsor of “Protect IP,” announced early Wednesday that he wiill no longer support the bill moving forward.

“I continue to believe that we can come to a solution that will cut off the revenue sources for foreign websites dedicated to counterfeiting and piracy that steal American jobs, hurt the economy, and harm consumers,” Blunt said. “But the Protect IP Act is flawed as it stands today, and I cannot support it moving forward.”

Sen. Jim Talent

— As Mitt Romney’s campaign readies for the South Carolina presidential selection primary this weekend, they are yet again dispatching Missouri’s former U.S. Senator Jim Talent to denounce rival Newt Gingrich.

On a conference call with reporters Wednesday morning, Talent blasted Gingirch for policy positions he’s taken in recent years, including his negative comments about Paul Ryan’s budget portal, his opposition to the troop surge in Iraq, his comments about climate change with former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and his most recent attacks on Romney’s work at Bain Capital.

Pointing to those positions, as well as his own unease when Gingirch was House Speaker, Talent said Gingich is not a “reliable” conservative.

“Gingich, if we nominate him, is going to be an unreliable candidate like he was an unreliable leader in the 90’s,” Talent said. “We can’t be in the situation where we have to hope he does something different than he’s been doing for the last 20 years.”

In addition to the call, Talent is featured in a new campaign web ad echoing similar themes.

Talent was one of the first in a series of Missouri Republican officials to back Romney’s campaign. Romney’s campaign touts support from Sen. Roy Blunt, Congressman Billy Long, and House Leader Tim Jones, among others.

The Romney campaign first deployed Talent to attack Gingrich in the weeks before the Iowa caucuses.

— Add former a Missouri Governor turned U.S. Attorney General to the growing list of Republican leaders endorsing Ann Wagner’s campaign for U.S. Congress.

John Ashcroft, a figure on the Missouri GOP scene since 1973, endorsed Wagner this weekend going into her first debate with her primary opponent.

“We need strong conservative leadership in Washington and Ann fits the bill,” Ashcroft said in a statement. “She has been an outspoken critic of liberal Democrats and their failed policies for years, such as when they jammed the government takeover of healthcare through Congress against the will of the American people.”

Ashcroft lauded Wagner on her positions on issues important to social conservatives, her opposition to abortion rights and same sex marriage, as well as her work for the Republican party, serving positions at the local, state, and national levels.

“It’s time for conservatives to be there for Ann as she runs for office for the first time. Ann has been in this fight for a long time, from the grassroots on up,” said Ashcroft. “Ann is a proven winner.”

Wagner’s primary opponent Ed Marin derides Wagner as an establishment favorite, and his campaign points to her endorsements from people like former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as evidence.

Ashcroft said Wagner has, in fact, challenged the party’s establishment from time to time.

“Ann is not afraid to fight the status quo and buck the establishment when those in charge lose their way,” he said. “This was demonstrated in her courageous campaign for chairman of the RNC… She challenged the establishment to reinforce conservative principles.”

— Among cities across the United States, St. Louis ranks among the worst in terms of clean air.

A study released Thursday by Environment Missouri suggests St. Louis had 23 days in which air quality was deemed dangerous to breathe, placing the city 7th among large metro areas across the country.

On 18 other days in the St. Louis area, the study says the amount of smog in the air was also dangerous, but did not meet the federal threshold for reporting.

“Missourians deserve clean air. But on far too many days, people in the St. Louis area are exposed to dangerous smog pollution,” said Ted Mathys, State Advocate with Environment Missouri.

Experts suggest smog, an air pollutant, leads to asthma attacks and makes respiratory awareness worse, especially among children and the elderly.

The group wants legislative action from Washington, and expressed frustration with the Obama administration’s decision to hold off on new smog standards through the Environmental Protection Agency.

“Unfortunately, rather than acting decisively to protect our kids from dangerous air pollution, President Obama chose to kick the can down the road. Missouri’s kids, senior citizens and those suffering from respiratory problems will suffer as a consequence and certainly deserve better, said Mathys. “President Obama and Missouri’s members of Congress should stand up for Missourians’ health and oppose any attacks to the Clean Air Act.”

Across the state, Missouri had 25 smog days in 2010, most in St. Louis, but others in Kansas City, Joplin, and St. Joseph. Kansas City ranks 35 on the same list.

A spokesperson for the City of St. Louis was not immediately responsive to a request for comment Wednesday evening.