Tommy Sowers: Lessons Learned Traveling Missour-ah, Getting "Shoulder Deep" in a Cow

Sowers on the road with his dog, Chuck.

​Over the past month, Democratic candidate Tommy Sowers has logged more than 3,000 miles in his Dodge pickup, crisscrossing southeastern Missouri on an odyssey dubbed "Boots on the Ground."

Yesterday we caught up with the 33-year-old Sowers -- a former Green Beret and West Point instructor -- a day after he returned to his hometown of Rolla.

Daily RFT: Nothing like a tour of Missouri's 8th Congressional District in February. What happened, were all the Cancun resorts booked?
 

Sowers:  Well the weather could have been better. We experienced a lot of snow. But I have to take issue with the word tour. This wasn't a tour. Who goes on tour? Let's call it a campaign.

Okay, and you did this "campaign" with your deputy campaign manager and your dog?

Yes. My dog, Chuck. He's a three-year-old Rhodesian Ridgeback. I think he won us some votes along the way.

And did I read via Twitter that Chuck up-chucked in your truck?  

He threw up twice. The truck, Chuck, my deputy campaign manager and I were a little ripe when we pulled into town yesterday. Today I cleaned the truck.

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​What did you learn the other day when you tweeted about being "shoulder deep" in a cow's rectum?

I learned what dairy farmers know every day. It's some tough work to keep a small dairy in operation especially now. These folks are working as hard as they ever had and are falling further behind. I also learned the cow was pregnant. Very pregnant.

What were some other memorable moments of your journey?

A lot of time was discovering the broad diversity of the district. You've got Rolla and Cape Girardeau that are academic and health-related towns. You've also got tiny towns that are dying. Still, you you find hidden surprises like an international fertilizer company that's shipping to Egypt and South America or a Medivac operation that's running real time service in 14 states from a basement in West Plains or this interesting and fantastic health and natural food store in Ava, Missouri, that's been there 30 years.

What's the biggest concern of people in the 8th District?