Claire McCaskill - Wikipedia

Claire McCaskill

Image courtesy of The Political Guide

Claire McCaskill was born on July 24, 1953 in Rolla, Missouri. McCaskill, a Democrat, was the first Female U.S. Senator elected from Missouri. She first held office in 2006, succeeding incumbent Jim Talent. In 2012 she was reelected against Missouri congressman Todd Akin. McCaskill has a degree in law from the University of Missouri – Columbia.

Early Life, Education, Law Career and Early Political Career

McCaskill’s grew up in Missouri, moving between Rolla, Lebanon and Columbia. Her father, William, worked at the McCaskill mill feed and her mother, Betty Anne, ran a corner drugstore. She graduated from Hickman High School in Colombia. After high school, McCaskill served tables part-time to put herself through college. She was a student of Political Science at the University of Missouri – Columbia. She went on to get a degree in law from the University of Missouri Law School in 1977₄. As a lawyer, she clerked for the Missouri Court of Appeals and later Assistant prosecutor, both in Kansas City. She dealt with sex crimes, homicides and arson cases before she won a seat in the Missouri State Legislature in 1982 where she chaired the Civil and Criminal Justice Committee₁.

In 1993 she became the head of the Jackson County Persecution Office and was the first woman to hold that position. In 1999 she was elected the position of state auditor. In 2004 she moved towards politics and defeated Governor Bob Holden, a sitting Missouri governor, in the primary election.

U.S. Senate

2006 Election

McCaskill defeated Republican incumbent, Jim Talent by a margin of 49.6% to 47.3% in the 2006 U.S. Senate election. This made her the first women Senator elected in Missouri₂.

2012 Election

McCaskill defeated Republican nominee Todd Akin in a margin of 54.7% to 39.2% in 2012₃.

Committees

Claire currently sits on four committees: Armed Services, Commerce, HSGAC and Aging. Her role in these committees are accountability and transparency, earmark reform, increasing Inspectors General independence, regulating credit cards, improving security in foreign aircraft repair stations, reforming the reverse mortgage industry, and protecting veterans₁.

Issues

Issues address by McCaskill: consumer protection, the economy, education, fiscal responsibility, government accountability, healthcare, immigration, Missouri energy sector, protecting Missouri farmers and rural communities, national security, military spending and veterans₁.

Legislative Voting Record

Vote for: Middle Class Tax Cut Act of 2012, Agricultural Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012, Reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act, trade promotion agreements with Panama, Colombia and Korea, Affordable Care Act, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Repeal Act, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), and Increasing the National Public Debt Limit to name a few₅.

Personal Life

McCaskill divorced her first husband, David Exposito, in 1995 after 11 years of marriage. Together they had three children, Maddie, Lily and Austin. She remarried in Joseph Shepard in 2002. Shepard is a businessman from St. Louis with four children of his own. A week before the 2012 election, McCaskill’s mother, Betty Anne, passed away from natural causes. She lived with the family and was a strong influence on her political career. McCaskill and her family are Roman Catholics₄. 

1. McCaskill, C. (2012). About Claire. Claire McCaskill for U.S. Senator. Retrieved from http://mccaskill.senate.gov/?p=about_senator
2. Blackboard. (2012). Claire McCaskill. Business Insider. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/claire-mccaskill
3. Reese, D. (2012). Claire McCaskill legitimately shuts down Todd Akin in Missouri Senate race. The Washington Post. Retrieved from  http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/wp/2012/11/07/claire-mccaskill-legitimately-shuts-down-todd-akin-in-missouri-senate-race/
4. Vote Smart. (2012) Senator Claire McCaskill Biography. Election and Candidate Biographies. Retrieved from http://votesmart.org/candidate/biography/2109/claire-mccaskill#.UK2sk45c_dk
5. Vote Smart. (2012). Senator Claire McCaskill Voting Records. Project Vote Smart. Retrieved from http://votesmart.org/candidate/key-votes/2109/claire-mccaskill#.UK2os45c_dk 

Works Cited 

Blackboard. (2012). Claire McCaskill. Business Insider. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/claire-mccaskill

McCaskill, C. (2012). About Claire. Claire McCaskill for U.S. Senator. Retrieved from http://mccaskill.senate.gov/?p=about_senator

Reese, D. (2012). Claire McCaskill legitimately shuts down Todd Akin in Missouri Senate race. The Washington Post. Retrieved from  http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/wp/2012/11/07/claire-mccaskill-legitimately-shuts-down-todd-akin-in-missouri-senate-race/

Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri [Photo]. (2011). The Political Guide. Retrieved from http://www.thepoliticalguide.com/Profiles/Senate/Missouri/Claire_McCaskill/

Vote Smart. (2012) Senator Claire McCaskill Biography. Election and Candidate Biographies. Retrieved from http://votesmart.org/candidate/biography/2109/claire-mccaskill#.UK2sk45c_dk

Time for Akin to PAC it in!

Funding is such a critical part of the election process, yet it the candidates remain “hush hush” on the topic. The main news story regarding funding in the Missouri senate elections was on Akin’s loss of funding. GOP members separated themselves from Akin after the campaign fearing Romney and other Republicans would be associated with and suffer from his controversial comments. Senate GOP leaders pulled funds and pressed Akin to withdraw from the race₁. Akin quickly went from being a sure win in a Republican state to a party casualty. He continued the race with low funding.

Image courtesy of the Saint Louis Dispatch Daily

Overall, Akin raised about a quarter of what McCaskill did. Akin raised $4,609,609 while McCaskill raised $19,452,464. 89% of Akins funding came from individual contributers and only 10% from PACs. McCaskill received 76% of her funding from individual contributions and 15% from PACs.

McCaskill’s largest contributor is EMILYs List, a political action committee that supports female democratic candidates, like McCaskill. They avoided the laws limiting PAC contributions through endorsing individual member contributions. Her other major contributor was law firms – not surprising since she once worked for a law firm herself. Although McCaskill raised a much larger sum of money than Akin, it seems fairly clean.

Akin’s top 5 contributers are all American corporations. Two of the top contributors, Emerson and Murray Energy, are energy companies. It is common to see these sorts of business siding with Republican candidates because Republicans typically favor corporate interests, especially regarding natural resources.

Throughout the campaign there were many indications that McCaskill had more funding than Akin to work with. I counted only 8 political ads from Akin on his official website and over 30 advertisements on McCaskill’s. Having four times the funding allowed Claire to get her message out there. Most of her ads were based on Akin’s “legitimate rape” comment. Political ads are effective at targeting voters who do not follow the news, so having more funding allowed McCaskill to get her message out there. Her daughter, Maddie, said, “We were afraid the media wouldn't report the full quote”₂. The media definitely were drawn to the story and it made Akin nationally infamous. McCaskill’s advantage in funding allowed her to remind voters of Akin’s remark and show how hurtful it was to many individuals. Akin’s campaign suffered as he did not have the contributions that allowed for the same amount of mudslinging in return.

1. Henderson, N. & Kane, P. (2012). Todd Akin rape comments prompt GOP to pull campaign funding, calls to exit race. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/with-todd-akins-rape-comments-abortion-is-back-inthe-campaign-spotlight/2012/08/20/c497bae4-eac7-11e1-a80b-9f898562d010_story.html
2. Stoeffel, K. (2012). Claire McCaskill’s Stylish Daughters Talk Todd Akin, Huntsman Girls, and More. NY Mag: The Cut. Retrieved from http://nymag.com/thecut/2012/11/claire-mccaskills-stylish-daughters-also-lovely.html

 Works Cited

Akin, T. (2012). Campaign Media. Todd Akin for Senate. Retrieved from http://www.akin.org/updates/media

Henderson, N. & Kane, P. (2012). Todd Akin rape comments prompt GOP to pull campaign funding, calls to exit race. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/with-todd-akins-rape-comments-abortion-is-back-inthe-campaign-spotlight/2012/08/20/c497bae4-eac7-11e1-a80b-9f898562d010_story.html

McCaskill, C. (2012). Videos. Claire McCaskill for US Senate. Retrieved from http://clairemccaskill.com/updates/videos

On a big-time stage [Photo]. (2009). Saint Louis Post Dispatch. Retrieved from http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/political-fix/on-a-big-time-stage-mccaskill-welcomes-obama/article_ee6c7904-cfe3-5575-81a8-357464ea0e15.html 

Open Secrets. (2012). Claire McCaskill: Campaign Finance/Money – Summary – Senator 2012. Politicians & Elections. Retrieved from https://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cid=N00027694

Open Secrets. (2012). Todd Akin: Campaign Finance/Money – Summary – Representative 2012. Politicians & Elections. Retrieved from https://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cid=N00027694

Stoeffel, K. (2012). Claire McCaskill’s Stylish Daughters Talk Todd Akin, Huntsman Girls, and More. NY Mag: The Cut. Retrieved from http://nymag.com/thecut/2012/11/claire-mccaskills-stylish-daughters-also-lovely.html

On the Issues: Why Akin Lost

The general consensus of the media after the election was that Todd Akin’s lost to McCaskill because of his infamous “legitimate rape” comment early on in the election. News sources such as the Washington Post state that Akin’s questionable remarks “badly damaged his political standing”₁. McCaskill’s standing in the upper chamber was particularly vulnerable going into the race. However, the “legitimate rape” comment put the odds dramatically in her favor. From the beginning it seemed like an inevitable win for a stark democrat against an extreme conservative.

Polls shut down after 3 hours as she won with 54.7 percent of the vote. Akin lost with 39.2 percent and Libertarian candidate, Jonathan Dine, got 6.1 percent₂. McCaskill clearly won by a huge margin. At some point the voters must have looked past Akin’s “legitimate rape” comment and at his other policy points. The following section will briefly summarize and compare the candidates’ beliefs and policies.

Akin:

• Against federal involvement in student loans
• Against federal involvement in the school lunch program
• Proposes to abolish the minimum wage
• Against equal pay for equal work for women
• Pro-Life, even in cases of rape or incest
• Against reductions in defense spending
• Against income tax increase for income above $250,000
• Against federal spending to promote economic growth
• Against increasing federal aid for college education
• Does not believe humans are a driving force behind climate change
• Repeals all sections of the Affordable Care Act
• Against same-sex marriage and civil unions

McCaskill: 

• Supported the Higher Education Opportunity Act and Federal Family Education Loan program, supports federal assistance in higher education
• Supports the Head Start program and No Child Left Behind
• Supports minimum wage increase
• Supports equal pay for equal work for women
• Pro-choice
• Supports reductions in defense spending
• Supports income tax increase for income above $250,000
• Support federal spending to promote economic growth
• Supports increased federal aid for college education
• Supports federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions
• Supports all sections of the Affordable Care Act
• Against same-sex marriage but for civil unions

As you go through the list you notice that both candidates have held true to their party ideologies. McCaskill is a bit more center of left while Akin is far left; therefore, voters in the middle were most likely to swing Democrat given the two options. McCaskill said herself that she is “in the middle” while Akin is “far on the fringe”₃.

At many points in the Presidential race we saw the candidates agreeing on the fundamental basis of many programs and policies. Unlike the Presidential candidates, the Missouri senator candidates held polarizing viewpoints on almost every subject. This made it a lot easier for voters to choose a candidate whose ideologies are closest to their own. Republican. I believe that it was not the “legitimate rape” comment that caused Akin’s dramatic defeat. It was the fact that Akin is overly conservative and his views are so extreme that many Republicans found it difficult to support him.  

1. Sullivan, S. (2012). Democrat Claire McCaskill defeats Republican Todd Akin in Missouri Senate race. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/11/06/democrat-claire-mccaskill-defeats-republican-todd-akin-in-missouri-senate-race/
2. Reese, D. (2012). Claire McCaskill legitimately shuts down Todd Akin in Missouri Senate race. The Washington Post. Retrieved from  http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/wp/2012/11/07/claire-mccaskill-legitimately-shuts-down-todd-akin-in-missouri-senate-race/
3. Sullivan, S. (2012). Claire McCaskill calls Todd Akin’s views “extremist” at first debate. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/09/21/claire-mccaskill-calls-todd-akins-views-extreme-at-first-debate/ 

Works Cited

Henderson, N. & Kane, P. (2012). Todd Akin rape comments prompt GOP to pull campaign funding, calls to exit race. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/with-todd-akins-rape-comments-abortion-is-back-inthe-campaign-spotlight/2012/08/20/c497bae4-eac7-11e1-a80b-9f898562d010_story.html

            Loeb, P. (2012). Missouri US Senate Race Todd Akin vs. Claire McCaskill – Nonpartisan Issue Guide. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-loeb/missouri-us-senate-race_b_2068589.html

            McCaskill, C. (2012). Issues: Education. Missouri’s Senator Claire McCaskill. Retrieved from http://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/?p=issue&id=308

            Progress Missouri. (2012). McCaskill and Nixon support minimum wage increase. Progress Missouri. Retrieved from http://progressmissouri.org/mccaskill-and-nixon-support-minimum-wage-increase

Reese, D. (2012). Claire McCaskill legitimately shuts down Todd Akin in Missouri Senate race. The Washington Post. Retrieved from  http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/wp/2012/11/07/claire-mccaskill-legitimately-shuts-down-todd-akin-in-missouri-senate-race/

            Sullivan, S. (2012). Claire McCaskill calls Todd Akin’s views “extremist” at first debate. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/09/21/claire-mccaskill-calls-todd-akins-views-extreme-at-first-debate/

Sullivan, S. (2012). Democrat Claire McCaskill defeats Republican Todd Akin in Missouri Senate race. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/11/06/democrat-claire-mccaskill-defeats-republican-todd-akin-in-missouri-senate-race/

            Terkel, A. (2012). Todd Akin Opposed to Minimum Wage, Equal Pay Laws. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/09/todd-akin-minimum-wage-equal-pay_n_1951192.html