Claire McCaskill
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| Image courtesy of The Political Guide |
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.
- McCaskill, C. (2012). About Claire. Claire McCaskill for U.S. Senator. Retrieved from http://mccaskill.senate.gov/?p=about_senator
- Blackboard. (2012). Claire McCaskill. Business Insider. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/claire-mccaskill
- 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/
- Vote Smart. (2012) Senator Claire McCaskill Biography. Election and Candidate Biographies. Retrieved from http://votesmart.org/candidate/biography/2109/claire-mccaskill#.UK2sk45c_dk
- 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
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