Sarah Palin Juggernaut Steams into Missouri Primary Fight

Sarah Palin bought some Chick-fil-A food in Phoenix Wednesday and then announced stops in Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri. The tea party favorite will campaign for Sarah Steelman, a Republican candidate for Senator who wants to take on incumbent Democrat Claire McCaskill in November.

* The Des Moines Register reported Palin said in a television interview she favored "waffle fries and spicy chicken" at a Chick-Fil-A in support of the chicken restaurant's appreciation day. She is due to stop in Missouri Friday.

* The Kansas City Star reports the former vice presidential candidate will serve food at a barbecue at 6 p.m. Friday in Cleveland, Mo. The event is at The Berry Patch, a blueberry farm about an hour south of Kansas City.

* Touted as the Steelman Surge BBQ, the candidate invites her supporters to picnic in preparation to "get rid of the status quo." Additionally, Steelman thanked Palin "for the conservative leadership she always shows."

* The former governor of Alaska endorsed Steelman July 17. In her message, Palin said her candidate "has often had to stand up to the political establishment... to stop out of control spending and the destructive debt it leaves in its wake."

* The Berry Patch is a pick-your-own farm located at 22509 State Line Rd. in Cleveland. A picnic dinner lasts from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Gates open at 5 p.m.

* The! small f arm touts "20 acres of blueberry heaven." The small business, typical of Missouri farmers, is family-owned. Around 20,000 people enjoy picking blueberries from the farm each year. There are still fresh crops available now even in the extreme drought covering the area.

* Cleveland is a small town of 661 people 35 miles due south of downtown Kansas City. The farm is around a half mile from the Missouri-Kansas border.

* The latest polls show McCaskill behind all three mainstream Republican candidates for her Senate seat. The Hill reports the Missouri Senate race is currently a toss-up.

* Palin comes to Missouri less than a week after former vice president Dick Cheney called Palin's choice as Sen. John McCain's running mate a "mistake." Fox News reports Mama Grizzly fired back a sarcastic remark to the former Bush running mate. "Seeing as how Dick -- excuse me, [former] vice president Cheney never misfires, then evidently, he's quite convinced that... he characterized me as being a mistake. Here's where the mistake would have been.... It's had I not answered the call."

William Browning is a research librarian specializing in U.S. politics.