If she is unpopular, how did she get elected?
“If she is unpopular, how did she get elected?”
Two reasons. The less important one is that MO’s recent swing to hard red was underway in 2012 but not complete. The terrain was not as unfavorable as it is now to liberals.
But the biggest reason is that her opponent was the dumbest person in the entire state. Google “Todd Akin legitimate rape” and you will learn why she won.
Class of 2006. She lucked out running in a terrible Republican year against a somewhat weak incumbent Senator who had only been in office 4 years (Jim Talent). Talent narrowly beat the (illegally) appointed Democrat Jean Carnahan in 2002, a seat she held onto from after the 2000 elections. Talent, a good Senator, was never able to get a solid hold on the seat, losing to McCaskill 49.6-47.3% (considered “the revenge of the Carnahans”).
McCaskill was first elected statewide as Auditor by a narrow margin in 1998 with just 50%. She was reelected in 2002 with a 60-37% landslide, and then ran for Governor in 2004, defeating the weak Democrat incumbent, “One-Term Bob” Holden, whom the Republicans expected to face, in the Dem primary. She presented a strong challenge, but lost to Republican Matt Blunt in the general that year, losing by just 51-48%. She remained in office as Auditor and was laying the groundwork to run against Talent, defeating him in ‘06.
However, after she was elected and her left-wing record was on full display in a higher-profile job than State Auditor, her disapprovals rose and she became a top target in 2012. She was trailing all Republican challengers. She actually wanted to run against Congressman Todd Akin, a solid Conservative (even though he was leading her). He would’ve beaten her had he not been led into a “gotcha” question on the issue of rape and how that it “rarely results” in pregnancy.
As you may recall, the media went into a feeding frenzy and Akin’s comments were such that Republicans wanted him to drop out of the race, which also got Indiana’s Richard Mourdock ensnared, and two races that were for the taking got snatched away. Akin lost by an embarrassing 16% (55-39%). Had the race been held in early August before the comments, Akin would’ve won by about 52-47% or thereabouts. So, she was saved entirely by the fact her opponent managed to become more unpopular than she. However, that lasted about 5 minutes, and her high disapprovals returned almost immediately, and the GOP is unlikely to make the same mistake again. In short, McCaskill lucked out on the basis of anti-Republican sentiment, not on personal support. Unless she can paint Trump and her likely opponent Hawley as being massively unpopular in MO, it’s unlikely she can get a third term.
By doing her best to ensure that her opponent was Todd Akin, the only GOP candidate she could possibly beat.