< McCaskill Pulls Late Victory for Missouri Senate Seat

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Heard on Morning Edition

November 8, 2006 - RENEE MONTAGNE, host:

And in Missouri, Republican Jim Talent took an early lead over Democrat Claire McCaskill. And then, as NPR's Frank Langfitt reports from St. Louis, that lead disappeared.

(Soundbite of cheering)

FRANK LANGFITT: It was after midnight, and for the first time Claire McCaskill edged ahead of Jim Talent. Talent had been racking up a six-point lead in the rural, conservative counties that report early in Missouri. Then the numbers flashed on the giant screen: McCaskill 49 percent, Talent 48. McCaskill's headquarters in a hotel ballroom in downtown St. Louis erupted in cheers.

State Democratic Party chair Roger Wilson pored over a spreadsheet, looking at the returns county by county. With McCaskill ahead, the majority of outstanding votes were in solidly Democratic areas, such as suburban St. Louis County and Kansas City. I asked Wilson how he felt about his candidate's chances. A lot better than I did 45 minutes ago, he said.

Around 1:00 a.m., McCaskill announced what was by then statistically obvious.

Senator CLAIRE MCCASKILL (Democrat, Missouri): Tonight we have heard the voices of Missourians, and they have said we want change.

(Soundbite of cheering)

LANGFITT: As the crowd of friends and campaign workers waved signs, McCaskill, the state's auditor, invoked a legendary politician from the Show Me state.

Ms. MCCASKILL: Enjoy tonight. You deserve it, because the Democratic Party once again has claimed Harry Truman's Senate seat for the working people of Missouri.

LANGFITT: It may take time to figure out exactly how McCaskill pulled out this win after grinding along for at least two months in a dead heat. One thing is clear: She made huge gains in St. Louis County, which is home to one-fifth of the votes in the state. The last Democrat to run for Senate won the county by 15,000 votes. McCaskill won by more than three times that.

Turnout was heavy across the state yesterday. Terry Jones, a political scientist in St. Louis, estimated it was 10 percent higher than the last midterm election. He largely attributed the turnout to a controversial ballot amendment protecting embryonic stem-cell research that seemed to be the most galvanizing issue at the polls. It narrowly passed, but Jones said he thought McCaskill won because of disenchantment with President Bush and the war in Iraq.

In his concession speech, Talent seemed to suggest the same.

Senator JIM TALENT (Republican, Missouri): I want you all to know that it was not for the effort, it was not because of any lack of support or work or vigor anywhere around this state. You all did a great, great job. The headwind was just very, very strong this year. But I think without your support, your effort, your hard work and your belief, there's no way that we could have made it this close. And I want to thank all of you very, very much.

(Soundbite of applause)

LANGFITT: Besides winning a tight contest with national implications, yesterday's victory was sweet for McCaskill in another way. She ran for governor two years ago. She lost that race to Republican Matt Blunt by more than 80,000 votes.

Frank Langfitt, NPR News, St. Louis.

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