Be sure to GO VOTE in Tuesday's general election! A ton of candidates and issues on the ballot…so here are our endorsements and recommendations. Ready?

MISSOURI GOVERNOR: Chris Koster
We recommend a vote for Koster. While we have reservations regarding both candidates, we view a vote for Koster as necessary to avoid the governorship of a man who believes "right-to-work" legislation is a good thing for working families or that Missouri should enact "religious freedom" laws, which are thinly veiled attempts at legalized discrimination. Between those stances and others, it's hard not to say that Koster is the better choice.

U.S. SENATE: Jason Kander
We proudly endorse Jason Kander to take incumbent Roy Blunt's seat. Blunt has had six years in the Senate, and two with his party in the majority, but what has he done for working Missourians? On the other hand, as Secretary of State,

U.S. HOUSE (MO-8): Dave Cowell
We endorsed Dave Cowell before the August primary, and we're proud to stand by that endorsement. Incumbent Jason Smith barely tries to hide his ties to Washington special interests, while Cowell is a progressive who wants to fight for us, not lobbyists.

STATE REPRESENTATIVE (DIST. 154): Terry Hampton
We couldn't have been more excited when we endorsed Terry a few months back, and we're thrilled that she's on Tuesday's ballot. Hampton is running as an independent, willing to serve as her job title says: to represent her constituents. She's not beholden to party interests, and she truly cares about what's best for us. Hampton, to us, represents the beginning of a new era in politics where we're willing to look past political parties and instead work together in everyone's best interest through discussion and compromise.

MISSOURI LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR: Russ Carnahan
MISSOURI SECRETARY OF STATE: Robin Smith
MISSOURI STATE TREASURER: Judy Baker
MISSOURI ATTORNEY GENERAL: Teresa Hensley
RETAIN JUDGE TEITELMAN: YES

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT 1: YES
This sales tax has led to money well spent, and it's the state park system's primary source of funding. With that being said, we recommend a YES on this question to keep our state parks beautiful and to continue its soil/water conservation provision.

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT 2: YES
Campaign finance has proven to be one of the flashpoints for Missouri voters this cycle because Missouri has become one of a few states with zero limits on campaign contributions. Indeed, unions would be restricted from political donations, and this settles . But here's the thing: Unions have gotten super PACs, too, and super PACs are the root of our campaign finance issues, regardless of their purpose. Should a union be able to spend unlimited amounts of money on campaign ads like Sheldon Adelson's super PACs? We think not. Because of this, we recommend a YES vote on Amendment 2 to restore campaign contribution limits for

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT 3: NO
This ballot question, propelled by some rather strange political bedfellows and opposed by many you'd think would support it, has far too much baggage for us to so much as consider supporting it. It's supported by big tobacco companies and convenience stores, seemingly with the goal of making discount cigarettes more expensive in order to benefit their own pocketbooks. It's opposed by organizations who frequently endorse cigarette taxes like the American Cancer Society and American Heart Association. It contains language which is hostile to a woman's right to choose and stem-cell research. No one with any interest in keeping big-money influence out of our government should support this amendment, and as such, we're recommending a NO vote.

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT 4: NO
We fail to see the point of amending the state constitution in order to prevent state and local officials from having the freedom to revise tax structures in a quickly changing world and economy. No one's proposing mass service taxes, so it's hard to argue against a NO vote for Amendment 4.

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT 6: NO
Voter ID laws have been pushed for years by politicians on the right as a means of combating voter impersonation. While it'd certainly help, there's one fundamental flaw with these laws in Missouri: There has not been a single case of voter impersonation reported to the Secretary of State under the current ID laws. And we haven't even gotten into the all-too-often racially discriminatory motives behind these laws. Since this adds a financial burden on those who may not otherwise have/need a photo ID, and since it's attempting to solve a non-issue, we recommend a NO vote on Amendment 6.

PROPOSITION A: NO
MoDOT's funding situation is an embarrassment for our state, and shame on our state legislators for pretending their hands are tied into leaving us with this unwieldy beast of a ballot question. You'd expect that our Republican-dominated General Assembly would recognize that roads are important for commerce and they'd manage to find the money that MoDOT needs to keep our roads in good shape and businesses running smoothly, but this has not happened. So we're left with a cigarette tax that will be repealed should any new cigarette taxes make it onto a future ballot, which puts MoDOT in exactly the same boat (or car) that it's in right now. We should demand better from people who are supposed to serve us, not sit on their hands waiting to see if this fixer-upper of a funding source passes, by voting NO on Proposition A.