12:39 p.m. Seven Missouri congressional seats not expected to change

Incumbents holding seven of Missouri’s nine U.S. House seats are likely to keep them after November’s election, although all face at least one challenger.

Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Springfield, seeking his seventh term in southwest Missouri’s heavily Republican 7th Congressional Districts, has three challengers. Even if he wins in November, he could lose his party leadership position as House minority whip if Democrats broaden their majority this November.

“He’s very optimistic,” Blunt spokesman Dan Wadlington said. “He’s hopeful that Republicans will do better than most of the pundits seem to believe.”

Blunt, 58, was majority whip until Democrats took control of the House in 2007. He lost his bid for majority leader because of his ties to Tom DeLay, who stepped down because of a criminal indictment in Texas. But he still calls members together on key votes.

Although Blunt has drawn high ratings from conservative interest groups, his Democratic challenger, Richard Monroe, a retired federal prosecutor, said Blunt is vulnerable among disaffected voters who believe he has betrayed conservative values.

Monroe said his own polling indicates Blunt has lost favor with most Republicans.

“I would say I have a decent chance,” said Monroe, who advocates a balanced budget, alternative energy, and helping defaulted homeowners and ending tax cuts for the wealthy.

Libertarian Kevin Craig, of Powersite, and Constitution Party member Travis Maddox, of Fair Grove, also want to unseat Blunt.

Rep. Ike Skelton, dean of the state’s congressional delegation, is seeking a 17th term in Missouri’s 4th District, south and east of Kansas City.

The 76-year-old Democratic congressman from Lexington is chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.

A widower who recently announced he’s getting married, he has no plans to retire. “I’m too young,” he said. “There’s a lot of work to do.”

And that’s good news for Democrats who fear the seat in the fairly conservative-leaning district could be taken by Republicans once Skelton leaves.

Of tasks that lie ahead, Skelton said he is “deeply concerned” about the readiness of U.S. ground forces and would shift efforts to Afghanistan.

“We have a generation of rebuilding our credibility and respect around the world,” he said.

Businessman Jeff Parnell, of Rogersville, who also writes and sings political satire, is the Republican challenger. Parnell, 47, said he knows the odds are against beating a “long-entrenched incumbent,” but “anyone who has served that long, it’s time for him to go home.”