As reported by , current Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has an 8 point lead over likely election challenger Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder. The approval rating of the Governor is also up in relation to other U.S. Governors -- but not because of the support of his Democratic base.
From Public Policy Polling:
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon continues to post solid approval numbers and more importantly has a higher degree of crossover support than most Governors in the country. That has him in a strong position halfway through his first term to win a second one. Nixon's approval rating is 44% with 30% of voters disapproving of him and an unusually high 26% having no opinion. What's interesting about his numbers is that he's actually weaker with Democratic voters than most Democratic Governors around the country are- only 54% approve of him with 26% disapproving. His numbers with independents and Republicans more than make up for that tepid support from his base though. With indys his approval is a positive 43/23 spread, very strong numbers in a time when many of those voters have turned away from the Democratic Party. And most impressively Nixon comes close to breaking even with Republicans, with 34% approving and 37% disapproving of him. That's very rare for any politician in this highly polarized political climate.