The latest Rasmussen Reports poll out of Missouri shows Democratic Attorney General Jay Nixon still in good shape against floundering GOP governor Matt Blunt. In the poll, which was taken on December 12, Nixon gets his best numbers yet in any Rasmussen poll taken this year.

These numbers are driven by a couple of factors. First, there is Blunt's job approval rating, which this month holds steady at a miserable 41 approve/58 disaprove. Rasmussen chalks his extreme unpopularity up to cuts Blunt made to Medicare, an issue that Jay Nixon is making central to his campaign.

Attorney General Jay Nixon was here on Friday, pledging to restore all state Medicaid cuts if he's elected governor next year. Nixon hosted a healthcare roundtable, one of a series that he's been holding around the state to refocus the public's attention on the Medicaid cuts that Gov. Matt Blunt and the Missouri Legislature enacted in 2005.

Another key factor in Nixon's lead is his phenomenal performance among Independents and moderates.

Nixon has a 19-point lead with unaffiliated voters and attracts twice as many moderates.

While this is down a bit from the 27% lead among Independents Nixon enjoyed in a Research 2000 poll last month, it is still well above Claire McCaskill's 51%-43% margin win among that demographic in her victory over Jim Talent last year.

Between Nixon's keeping the focus on healthcare, and the economy's rising to the top of Missouri voters' concerns (26% according to Rasmussen vs. 19% for the war in Iraq) the political environment in Missouri is looking more and more favorable for Democrats in 2008.