<\/a>Back in August I noted<\/a> that GOP gubernatorial candidate Eric Greitens seemed to be trying to retroactively relocate his student vounteer work in Croatia to Bosnia. It seemed likely that he thought this little fib might influence the large Bosnian community in and around St. Louis -one of the largest in the country \u2013 to view his candidacy more favorably.<\/p>\n Greitens might have been on to something when it comes to courting the Bosnian bloc. The question is whether a fictitious volunteer stint in Bosnia will counter the negative appeal of Donald Trump at a time when presidential coattails can lead to victory or defeat. Apropos of which, the U.S. edition of The Guardian<\/em> is carrying a story<\/a> today about how the Bosnian community might bring about Trump\u2019s downfall in Missouri.<\/p>\n It doesn\u2019t take a genius to understand why Trump might roil emotions among Bosnians. Most of the local Bosnians are relatively recent immigrants and they are predominantly Muslims. Trump\u2019s anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim shtick is likely not only unappealing, but probably downright scary:<\/p>\n While never a monolith, Bosnian Americans in St Louis \u2013 which is home to an estimated 50,000 to 70,000 Bosnian Muslims \u2013 have near-universally been put off by Trump\u2019s anti-Muslim, anti-refugee rhetoric and are wary of the Republican candidate\u2019s popularity among Serbian nationalists. If they are mobilized as a bloc to vote against Trump for these reasons, 2016 could mark the national debut of Missouri\u2019s \u201cBosnian vote\u201d, costing Trump the state\u2019s 10 electoral votes.<\/p>\n [\u2026 .] Anecdotally, community leaders estimate that voter registration in St Louis\u2019s Bosnian community has surged by the thousands over the past two years.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The Guardian<\/em> goes further and speculates that this election might help to solidify the longer-term political importance of an emerging Bosnian voting bloc:<\/p>\n