SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt’s seat may not be as safe as the pundits once thought.



His democratic challenger is current Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander.



While in Springfield Tuesday, he visited with KOLR10’s Nick Thompson about the contrast he believes he provides to Blunt.



As one of the youngest statewide elected officials in the country and an Afghan veteran, Kander said he believes he can be a fresh face in Washington for Missourians.



Kander is pulling closer to Blunt in a race many are watching now because it increases the chances the Democrats could re-take the Senate.



Kander said Congress is dysfunctional, and it does not help that the institution has its lowest veteran membership since World War II.



“I think it makes a huge difference, it’s really clear, it’s not a coincidence that while we have so few veterans we also seem to have an inability to have a Congress that has a common sense of purpose,” Kander said.



As a leader, Kander said he is a part of a new generation focused on ideas and not ideology.



“I think of it more as sort of a movement that defines patriotism less as an eagerness to go to war and a willingness to do what’s right, even if it’s difficult politically,” Kander said.



According to Public Policy Polling, Blunt lead Kander 41 percent to 38 percent in a poll of 1,000 likely Missouri voters, but due to the poll’s margin of error, the candidates are in a dead heat.



Regardless of party, 31 percent approve of the job Blunt is doing while 42 percent disapprove.



“Missourians have a really clear choice in November,” Kander said. “They have a choice between somebody who has focused their time, their career on serving special interests, the same special interests who fund his campaign, his lifestyle frankly. And somebody who is a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, who has an ability and a desire and a background frankly of working across the aisle to get things done.”



While the Blunt campaign has said voters should be alarmed Hillary Clinton has said she is excited to work with Kander in the Senate, Kander said he is not afraid to go against his party’s leadership.



He opposed President Obama’s nuclear accord with Iran and supports a balanced budget amendment.



Kander is a face known to only 38 percent of Missourians now, but there are four months until November.



Senator Blunt was in northern Missouri Tuesday, but as candidates continue to circle the wagons in southwest Missouri, KOLR10 News will continue to relay their messages.



Blunt holds the fundraising lead on Kander, with $6.8 million in the bank on July 1 compared to $3.8 million for Kander.

