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(CNN) - Some town hall meetings being held by members of Congress around the country have turned heated as citizens have come out to express their concerns about health care reform. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, held a largely civil health care town hall meeting Monday in her state.

McCaskill said she remains optimistic about the process of crafting and passing health care reform legislation.

"I think I was able to hopefully correct some really bad misinformation that's out there. People are just getting information that is flat wrong" McCaskill told CNN Congressional Correspondent Brianna Keilar.

(CNN) - A snake caused trouble in the Missouri State Capitol Tuesday.

That's not a personal attack on a politician or a lobbyist. A real-life snake slithered into underground power cables in downtown Jefferson City, plunging the Capitol Building into darkness right in the middle of the debates in the House and Senate.

The blackout happened during the final week of a contentious legislative session. In the Senate, lawmakers were debating a resolution to block any Guantanamo Bay detainees from being moved to prisons in the state. Representatives in the House were about to vote on an anti-bullying measure.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch political reporter Tony Messenger, who was in the chamber when the lights went out, said the leadership decided they could see, so the sessions continued. With candles burning in hallways and offices, Messenger said it became "a hat tip to the senators who served in the building many, many years ago."

With no power for the automated boards, lawmakers voted the old-fashioned way. Procedures took a long time, Messenger said, as opposed to the instant electronic votes. Since the bells to notify members of votes were inoperable, legislative doormen were sent to bring everyone into the chambers.

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(CNN) – Missouri Rep. Roy Blunt Thursday announced his intention to run for a seat in the U.S. Senate, a move that sets up what is likely to be a showdown between two prominent families in one of the country's most politically divided states.

Making the official announcement in St. Louis, the former House Republican Whip indicated he would run on a platform of keeping Democratic control of both Congress and the White House in check.

"Common sense and open debate are in danger of being suppressed by the overreaching liberal monopoly in Congress and the White House," he said according to prepared remarks. "Never has Washington been in greater need of hearing from people who work hard, pay their taxes, and want solutions to urgent economic problems and the ongoing threat of terrorism."

"My sense is Missourians and Americans are not well served by one-party rule," Blunt also said, citing the massive stimulus measure signed by President Barack Obama that won little Republican support.

The announcement comes two weeks after Democrat Robin Carnahan jumped into the race - another Missourian with prominent name recognition who enjoys widespread support.

"The Missouri Senate race is shaping up to be one of the most competitive races of the cycle," said Nathan Gonzalez, political editor of the Rothenberg Report. "It has attracted two of the biggest names of the state that has a history of closest elections."

Both Blunt and Carnahan are seeking the Senate seat set to be vacated by longtime Missouri Republican Kit Bond.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) – House Minority Whip Roy Blunt, who will step down from his leadership post in the next Congress, said Thursday that President-elect Obama appears “much better prepared” heading into his first term than President Clinton had been.

The Missouri Republican - who served as Majority Whip when Republicans controlled the chamber - joked with reporters that he was relieved to be relinquishing his leadership role. "I can tell you more problems about members of Congress that you ever wanted to hear," he said, adding "Ten years of asking people things they don't want to do is a long time." But Blunt also sounded nostalgic about leaving leadership. “I will miss it all. …It is fun to be in the middle of every fight every day," he said.

Blunt admitted he was impressed with President-elect Barack Obama's campaign "in terms of discipline, planning, and lack of mistakes." He added, "I think he's much better prepared for this in terms as a manager that President Clinton may have been."

Thursday afternoon, House GOP leader John Boehner – who has said he intends to keep his leadership post - said he had asked conservative Indiana Republican Mike Pence to run for the post of Republican Conference Chairman. Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas - who told his colleagues earlier this week that he was running for the Chairman position - is now taking himself out of the race, according to his spokesman.

Pence ran against Boehner for minority leader in 2006, but lost by a substantial margin.

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(CNN) – CNN projects that Democratic candidate Jay Nixon will win the governor seat in Missouri, taking over a seat held by a Republican.

CNN's projection is based on exit poll data from key areas.

VELDA CITY, Missouri (CNN) - Pollworkers failed to set up about half the number of available machines at the city hall polling station, slowing the process to a crawl, said a county elections board representative. Seven hour waits were reported late afternoon. Elections officials said the polling location was so small that the 14 workers on-site decided it would be too cramped if they set up all the machines.

Three touchscreens and two optical scanners had been set up to accommodate about 1,200 registered voters, while 4 additional optical scanners remained unpacked. By 4pm, election board director Judge Joseph Goeke had identified the problem and ordered that workers set up the remaining idle units.

The county elections board representative told CNN that wait times are back down to 2 hours at the site, and that all voters in line will be allowed to cast their ballots.

ST. LOUIS, Missouri (CNN) - Long lines at polling stations across the city are no surprise, said officials at the St. Louis County Board of Elections. Callers into the CNN Voting Hotline reported waits of 4 to 6 hours in the northern suburbs of Jennings and Velda City.

The county's board of elections assistant director Dick Bauer said a lengthy ballot and what he expects to be a record turnout have slowed the process. Voters can make as many as 37 selections on the ballot today, and 10 of them are issue choices, said Bauer.

Voters in line at two polling locations in the suburb of Jennings have been experiencing waits of 4 hours or more, according to U.S. Representative William Lacy Clay. The congressman said both Jennings City Hall and Fairview Elementary were understaffed to handle the crowds.

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(CNN) KANSAS CITY, Missouri - Polling locations that had incorrect registration rolls in Kansas City's 5th Ward now have the right books, according to Laura Egerdal, Communications Director for Missouri's Secretary of State's Office. She said the county dispatched additional pollworkers to help with the backlog of voters and long lines.

When judges for six precincts in the fifth ward opened the first set of books this morning, they discovered that the cover jackets did not match the registration rolls, said Board of Elections director Shelley McThomas. The covers - indicating ward, precinct and sequence numbers - were mixed up when the books were originally assembled.

"They looked like the right books, but when the judges opened them this morning they discovered, no, these pages aren't the right pages", McThomas said. New books were printed on-site at the Board of Elections after the problem was discovered, and were delivered by deputies to anxious judges and voters in the fifth ward.

Kansas City, Mo. (CNN) - At least three polling locations in Kansas City's 5th Ward have the wrong registration books, said Board of Elections director Shelley McThomas. She said cover jackets indicating ward, precinct and sequence numbers were mixed up when the books were assembled at the Board of Elections.

Deputies deliver the books in pairs, and McThomas said elections officials think the problems are limited to 6 registration rolls for 3 polling locations within Ward 5.

"They looked like the right books, but when the judges opened them this morning they discovered, no, these pages aren't the right pages", McThomas said.

Kansas City election officials have sent teams to investigate. McThomas confirmed CNN voter hotline caller Elizabeth Wakowski's report that one of the affected polling locations is at the Immanuel Lutheran Church at 1700 Westport Rd.

McThomas said she's waiting to hear back from deputies in the field whether the problems have been resolved.

(CNN) – It's down to the wire for Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain as
the two men enter their final weekend of campaigning. With just three days until Election Day, CNN's latest polls of polls shows Obama holding on to leads in a few key battlegrounds — and neck-and-neck with McCain in others.

Obama leads McCain by 12 points in CNN's latest New Hampshire poll of polls. Fifty-three percent of likely voters in New Hampshire support Obama and 41 percent back McCain. Six percent are unsure about their choice for president. In CNN's October 31 New Hampshire poll of polls, Obama led McCain by 15 points - 54 percent compared to 39 percent.

Obama is also ahead in Wisconsin, where CNN's latest poll of polls in the state gives him an 11 point lead: Fifty-three percent of voters in Wisconsin support the Illinois senator and 42 percent support the Arizona senator. Five percent of voters in the state are unsure about their choice for president. In CNN's October 30 Wisconsin poll of polls, Obama was ahead by 12 points - 53 percent to 41 percent.

In Colorado, Obama is ahead by 7 points in CNN's latest poll of polls. Fifty-two percent of likely voters in the state support Obama and 45 percent support McCain. Three percent of voters in the state are undecided. In CNN's October 31 Colorado poll of polls, Obama and McCain were also separated by 7 percentage points - 51 percent for Obama and 44 percent for McCain.

Obama holds the slimmest of advantages in Montana in CNN's first poll of polls for the state: Forty-six percent of likely voters in the state back Obama, and 45 percent support McCain. Nine percent of Montana's likely voters are unsure about their choice for president.

The two presidential rivals are tied in CNN's latest Missouri poll of polls. Each man garners support from 48 percent of the state's likely voters. Four percent are unsure about their choice for president. The two men were also tied at 47 percent each in CNN's October 31 Missouri poll of polls.

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ST. LOUIS, Missouri (CNN) – New polls in five crucial battleground states that could decide the race for the White House suggest Barack Obama is making some major gains.

CNN/Time Magazine/Opinion Research Corporation polls released Wednesday afternoon of likely voters in Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada and Virginia suggest a shift towards the Democratic presidential nominee.

In Florida, the state that decided it all in the 2000 presidential election, 51 percent of likely voters say Obama is their choice for president, with 47 percent backing Republican presidential nominee John McCain. The last CNN poll taken in Florida showed the race for the state's 27 electoral votes all tied at 48 percent apiece, among registered voters. A new CNN Poll of Polls in Florida, also out Wednesday afternoon, has Obama over McCain by 5 points. The CNN Poll of Polls is an average of the new CNN poll and other new state polls.

"The campaign season is like the hurricane season. Florida lies directly in its path. Hurricane Obama hit Florida, and Hurricane McCain. Tropical Storms Biden and Palin made landfall in the Sunshine State. The impact? Over the last two weeks, Barack Obama has been gaining support in Florida," says CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider.

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(CNN) - Barack Obama may have regained a more solid footing over John McCain in the national polls, but in the key battleground states where the race will likely be decided, the two presidential contenders could hardly be closer

With six weeks to go until Election Day, just released CNN poll of polls out of Florida and Ohio, as well as a new survey out of Missouri, suggest the race for the White House just may be headed for a photo finish.

In the new CNN Florida poll of polls, comprised of four recent surveys of the state, McCain holds a razor-thin 1-point lead, 47-46 percent. The Republican presidential nominee had held a healthier margin there for most of the summer, though Obama has aggressively targeted Sunshine State voters on the airwaves by a margin of more than eight to one when it comes to ad spending. CNN considers the state a "tossup" in its electoral map breakdown.

CNN Election Center: Check out CNN's electoral map

A new CNN poll of polls in Ohio also shows McCain with a 1-point margin (47-46 percent) in that key Midwestern state, which no Republican presidential aspirant has lost and gone on to win the White House. The Ohio poll of polls, consisting of three recent surveys, also shows more than 7 percent of Ohioans still have not made up their minds. The Buckeye state is considered a tossup in the CNN electoral map.

The CNN poll of polls in Florida and Ohio do not carry sampling errors.

A new Research 2000 poll out of Missouri was also released Sunday, showing McCain with a four point lead there (49-45 percent). The perennial bellwether state that has voted for the eventual winner in all but one presidential election since 1904 chose President Bush over John Kerry by a 6-point margin in 2004 and picked Bush over Al Gore by a 4-point margin in 2000. The Research 2000 poll, which carries a sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points, also shows 6 percent remain undecided there. CNN considers Missouri as leaning toward McCain in its electoral map.

Earlier: Obama holds small lead in Michigan

The latest CNN national poll of polls meanwhile shows Obama with a 3 point lead over McCain.

DENVER (CNN) - Claire McCaskill’s from Missouri - a near-perfect bellwether state. It’s partly Southern, partly Northern, partly urban, partly rural. A key battleground state in this election, it’s voted for the winner in the every single election of the past century but one - why it voted for Adlai Stevenson in 1956, I have no idea. And of course, she’s a woman who endorsed Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton. She’s using feminist themes against John McCain.

To track the Missouri primary results county-by-county, click here: Missouri

To track the Missouri primary results county-by-county, click here: Missouri

(CNN) - John McCain is benefiting in Missouri from the same trend that was at play earlier in Georgia: It’s a close three-way race there thanks to the conservative vote split between Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney. Romney and Huckabee are each drawing just over a third of the conservative vote there while McCain is only drawing a quarter.

As in other states, McCain is being aided by strong support from those who describe themselves as Independents. But he's also, surprisingly, benefiting from an issue that was supposed to be his Achilles heel: Despite Mitt Romney's efforts to portray McCain as unqualified to handle economic issues, the two men are actually splitting voters who are most concerned with the economy.

–CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider

(CNN) - Independents and crossover Republicans are keeping the Democratic race in Missouri extremely tight.

Clinton holds an 8-point lead over Obama there among Democrats who voted in the primary. But Missouri is one of those primaries that allows Independents and Republicans vote in the Democratic primary, and those voters are overwhelmingly supporting Obama.

The Democratic base is split between Obama and Clinton, but Independents clearly favor Obama.

–CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider

(CNN) - Republican voting patterns in Missouri most closely reflecting those of Southern states in tonight's Republican primary voting.

That's making for a tight contest among Mitt Romney, Sen. John McCain and Mike Huckabee.

As in Southern states, Huckabee's support among Missouri Republicans is strongest among white evangelical born-again Christians, frequent church attendees and strong opponents of abortion.

Romney draws better from more affluent Missouri Republicans, opponents of abortion and those who approve of the war in Iraq. He also does best with voters 60 and older.

Sen. McCain draws more from Missouri's moderates, Republicans holding negative opinions of the Bush administration and those who see the war in Iraq as being the most important issue in deciding their vote.