McCaskill to announce decision on Senate race

By JOSH FLORY of the Tribune's staff
Published columbiatribune.com Monday, August 29, 2005
State Auditor Claire McCaskill has informed Democratic Party officials about whether she plans to run for the U.S. Senate, and an announcement could come as early as tomorrow.

Missouri Democratic Party spokesman Jack Cardetti said he and party executive director Corey Dillon spoke with McCaskill on Saturday afternoon.

"She has informed the Democratic Party of her decision, and she will be announcing that this week," Cardetti said. He declined to provide further details.

However, an announcement of some kind is apparently scheduled tomorrow in Houston, Mo., where the auditor's father once worked at the McCaskill feed mill.

In an interview this morning, Chance Drake, a barber in Houston, said his father now owns the McCaskill property in Houston and was getting the mill "all cleaned up" for some kind of announcement.

"It was supposed to be kept quiet," he said. "She's running for some kind of office or something like that."

That's not necessarily a guarantee that McCaskill is running for the Senate.

The auditor previously indicated that she would seek re-election, but party leaders have urged her to take on incumbent U.S. Sen. Jim Talent, a Republican.

McCaskill had said she would announce her decision by Labor Day. While it's possible she could announce a re-election campaign in Houston, it seems more likely that the out-of-the-way location would be used to announce a Senate bid.

If that's the case, it would represent a major victory for Democratic leaders who were desperate to find a challenger to run against Talent.

McCaskill is considered a strong candidate, based in part on her gubernatorial run in 2004 when she ousted incumbent Democrat Bob Holden in the primary. She later lost to Matt Blunt in the general election, but she fared significantly better than Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry and boosted her name recognition with millions of dollars worth of television advertising.

If she runs, McCaskill would be taking a page out of the incumbent's playbook. Talent lost a race for governor in 2000 but ran for the Senate in 2002 and defeated incumbent Jean Carnahan. The Democrat had been appointed to the seat after her husband, former Gov. Mel Carnahan, won election posthumously.

Talent is generally considered to be in a strong position to run for re-election, but Democrats hope high gas prices, opposition to the war in Iraq and his opposition to therapeutic cloning could make him vulnerable.

If McCaskill does run, the race would almost certainly rank among the most-watched in the nation. When Talent took on Carnahan in 2002, he was boosted by visits from President George W. Bush, and the president would likely return if Talent faces a strong challenge.

McCaskill, on the other hand, would likely get support from a variety of prominent Democrats. Both would be expected to raise and spend millions of dollars on the race.

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Reach Josh Flory at (573) 815-1719 or jflory@tribmail.com.  
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