From STLToday.com:

A swing legislative district is hard to find.

Democrats hope they may have found one in the state Senate’s 15th District, which takes in Kirkwood and Webster Groves and historically has been held by Republicans. The seat is currently held by a GOP leader, state Senate President Pro Tem Michael Gibbons of Kirkwood, who’s running this year for state attorney general.

“It’s a Republican-leaning district that has been trending Democratic the last couple of years,” said state Democratic Party spokesman Jack Cardetti.

The state Republican Party, which now controls a majority of the state Senate seats, says it’s confident the 15th will remain in GOP hands.

Until this spring, both parties thought the Democrats had a strong 15th District contender in Kevin Gunn, a well-connected Webster Groves lawyer and local councilman who had amassed more than $150,000 for his bid.

But then Gov. Matt Blunt, a Republican, persuaded Gunn to accept an appointment to the state Public Service Commission. That meant Gunn had to drop out as a candidate. Senate Democrats were so angry, they temporarily stalled Gunn’s PSC nomination.

Now, two Democrats are competing for their party’s 15th District nomination in the Aug. 5 primary, both of them praised by party leaders: Steve Eagleton and James Trout.

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