Judy Morgan had served only one session in the Missouri General Assembly when reapportionment threw her into the same House district as minority leader Mike Talboy.

But as Morgan prepared to step aside, Talboy altered her career path by altering his. On May 21, Talboy announced he was leaving the legislature after six years to take a job as a lobbyist. Two days later, Morgan filed for the new 24th District seat that stretches from downtown to the Country Club Plaza.

And six days after that, the former teacher's union president had an opponent in Sarah Gillooly, manager of governmental affairs for Planned Parenthood of Kansas & and Mid-Missouri.

Whoever wins the Democratic nomination on Tuesday will face Republican Jonathan Sternberg in the fall.

The pair agree on most major issues. Both have worked to defend equal rights and opportunities for gays and lesbians, while opposing attempts to limit women's access to abortion and contraception. Both say that Missouri and Kansas need to quit trying to lure employers across the state line and spend more effort growing the number of jobs without poaching.

That leaves the lines of separation along matters of personal style, their backgrounds and endorsements they've collected. Gillooly has the support of Freedom Inc. and Four Freedoms Democratic Club, among others. Morgan is backed by her former union, the American Federation of Teachers Local 691, and many other labor groups.