JEFFERSON CITY -- The early favorites for next year's Missouri attorney general race have already gotten a good going-over from state political commentators.

And considering that outgoing Democratic Attorney General Jay Nixon is favored to take the Governor's mansion in 2008, his party can't be pleased with how the early race to replace him is panning out.

A conjunction of opinions from two respected commentators on the two early-stage front-runners in a recent Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader clearly gave the early edge to Republican Catherine Hanaway over Democrat Jeff Harris.

Hanaway has already won over House Speaker Rod Jetton as an attorney general candidate, wrote political columnist Jo Mannies recently in The Political Fix. Hanaway has had to ask Jetton to tone it down until she announces officially, Mannies noted.

Jetton told Mannies that Hanaway is "a true conservative that made a big difference in this state" as a House representative.

Harris might have a tougher time trying to run for attorney general on his record as House Minorty Leader, writes Jonathon Prouty at MissouriPulse.com. He noted that Harris did poorly in a recent TV interview and claimed undue credit for killing a school-choice proposal.

Harris "will be hard-pressed in a potential primary and inevitably during the general election on his accomplishments, or lack thereof," Prouty wrote.

Hanaway served as Republican representative for Missouri's 87th District from 1998 until 2005 and was voted House Speaker in 2003. She is currently U.S. Attorney for Missouri's Eastern District.

Harris is currently House Minority Leader and has served as Missouri House Representative for District 23 since 2002. Prioor to that he was an Assistant Missouri Attorney General.