United States Senate candidate Jim Talent will be coming to campus next week, as part of the College Republican’s speaker series.
The event, which is open to all students, faculty and staff, will be held Monday, Sept. 9, at 7 p.m. in the Cook Hall auditorium.
A recent poll by John Zogby shows Talent now has an edge over incumbent Senator Jean Carnahan, his Democratic opponent in the race for the senate. Of the 801 voters polled statewide, 47.1 percent favored Talent, as opposed to 46 percent for Carnahan. The margin of error is 3.5 percentage points.
“This is one of the most talked-about senate races,” said junior Nicholas Pistor, vice chairman of the College Republican National Committee. “Whoever wins could sway the balance of the senate.”
Pistor stressed that the speech will be especially beneficial to students studying government, to be able to see someone with 16 years of government experience. He also said that Talent can relate well to students.
Since April, “Talent has gained momentum and more support among men,” Pistor said. “Hopefully that momentum will continue. If the election was held today, Talent would win. I think Talent will be the next U.S. senator from Missouri.”
Senior Maggie Edelmann, political science major and co-president of the political science club, also encourages all students to attend Talent’s speech. She does, however, think that the Young Democrats should get Jean Carnahan to come to SLU, especially since Talent will be speaking.
“The race is so close,” Edelmann said. “I think that’s the main reason she should come. They should both speak their minds.”
Talent is the first in a series of speakers that the College Republicans is presenting to the Saint Louis University community. Newt Gingrich, former republican Speaker of the House, as well as several other local politicians will also be a part of the series. Gingrich is scheduled to speak sometime after the November elections.
Talent was born and raised in Des Peres, Mo., graduated from Kirkwood High School in 1973 and attended Washington University.
Talent served in the U.S. Congress for eight years and as Assistant Majority Leader under Congressman Dick Armey (R-Texas).
