Claire McCaskill won with more than just Todd Akin's comments

ST. LOUIS  •  On the cusp of a body-blow election loss eight years ago, Claire McCaskill knew exactly what had happened. The Rolla, Mo., native believed she had forgotten her rural roots, focusing her campaign too heavily on St. Louis and Kansas City. Missouri responded that year by electing Republican Matt Blunt as governor instead of her.

McCaskill’s landslide re-election to the U.S. Senate Tuesday came in part from a “rural strategy,” employed from within a roving campaign RV dubbed “Big Blue,” cruising through places such as Rolla, Ozark and Bolivar.

Wresting large swaths of rural Missouri from Republican Todd Akin was part of McCaskill’s path to victory, that and aggressively pushing her centrist record. And her strategy of honing specific issues to specific constituencies — Social Security for seniors, college loans for students, the minimum wage for union workers.

Her margin of victory was partly due to a Libertarian candidate who performed better than expected, at Akin’s expense. It was partly just a good year for Democrats. And McCaskill had the advantage of being a well-financed incumbent.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/cda943da-a942-5b1b-8f31-94f1dd1ea963.html