Missouri State Representative said Obama victory opened the door for Missouri black leaders

Intro: A Missouri State Representative said the close presidential race means Missouri is slowly shifting toward liberals.

Laura Nichols has more from Jefferson City

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OutCue: SOC Missouri State Representative Talib Din El-Amin said Missouri has always been conservative but he is encouraged by the closeness of the Missouri popular vote for the presidential race. Missouri's popular vote gave McCain 49.4 percent and Obama 49.2 percent. Representative El-Amin said this means Missouri is becoming more progressive in a sense that it is slowly becoming less exclusive and is engaging in policy outside the box.

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Description: "I think that is does restore or give hope to African-Americans who desire to possibly run for higher office. A lot of times we are relegated to offices on a legislative or a state level at even a congressional level, but in terms of state-wide I think that it does give us a renewed sense of hope."

Representative El-Amin said Obama's victory showed him that his son could be a Presidental candidate in 2042.

Reporting from the Capitol, I'm Laura Nichols

Intro: A Missouri State Representative said Obama's victory may help push Missouri's black leaders forward

Laura Nichols has more from Jefferson City.

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Missouri House Minority Whip Represenative Connie Johnson said Missouri has never had a black elected to state-wide office.

Representative Johnson said the lack of movement to get a black leader in the State House and State Senate seat goes along with Obama's failure to receieve Missouri's eleven electoral votes.

She said Missouri has always been fairly conservative.

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Description: "It takes a willingness to sit down and discuss the issue openly. I think part of the issue with race and politics is that nobody wants to discuss it. You know, it's like the pink elephant that's in the room and everybody just keeps walking around it."

Representative Johnson said Obama's election to the highest office will hopefully open up honest talk in Missouri and encourage more blacks to run for state-wide offices.

Reporting from the Capitol, I'm Laura Nichols

Intro: A Missouri State Representative said Missouri's mindset has changed because of the presidential election.

Laura Nichols has more from Jefferson City

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OutCue: SOC Missouri State Representative Ted Hoskins from St. Louis County said the election of Barack Obama gave Missouri black leaders the encouragement that if he can run for the president they can run for the state-wide offices. Representative Hoskins said Missouri presidential races are always tight but a difference of less than five thousand showed well for Obama. He said in the past black leaders were limited to the number of seats they could seek but this is not the case anymore.

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Description: "We longer have to worry about if a black person that runs or a black person that would go for anything that he would be held out because of his race. So I think that in itself indicates that shatters that theory that hey I can only do A B C or D. Now I can do anything.

Representative Hoskins said he believes some black people will now run who in the past considered it unachievable.

Reporting from the Capitol, I'm Laura Nichols