As Republican candidates for governor blitzed southwest Missouri trolling for anti-abortion voters, one of them, Sarah Steelman, found herself having a hard time answering questions from reporters. See the clip at the KY3 political blog here.

Steelman was asked about a letter encouraging then Gov. Mel Carnahan to sign a partial-birth abortion bill signed by 13 of 16 state senators. Steelman was one of the three who didn’t sign it. She didn’t remember why, she told reporters, but she pointed out that she co-sponsored the legislation and voted for it.

Steelman was also asked about a donation from a pro-stem-cell research group. Steelman stammered a bit and said she didn’t know anything about it. A spokesman later told reporters she never received the check.

Dave Plemmons, a Missouri Right-to Life spokesman who lives in southwest Missouri, called after my deadline last night to let me know that he thinks both candidates have good ideas in the anti-abortion realm. U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof was also in southwest Missouri talking about his idea for a cord-blood bank. Plemmons wishes he would have known about Steelman’s event, however, so he could have attended.

One of the interesting elements of the day is the political wrangling going on between the two camps. Hulshof planned this event more than a week ago and alerted the media to it late last week. Steelman appears to have put her plan together later, though she pre-empted Hulshof by making a call for a special session and thus stole the headlines.

Early in this campaign, Sen. Kit Bond said the race would be won by the candidate who was “swift and hungry.” Steelman wins swift this round. If the meat of his proposal and his campaign’s response to the day’s events are a guide, Hulshof wins hungry.