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McCaskill Ousts Holden in Gov's Race By Virginia Young Post-Dispatch Jefferson City Bureau Tuesday, Aug. 03 2004 Democrats fired their standard-bearer, Gov. Bob Holden, on Tuesday and chose Auditor Claire McCaskill as their best hope for staving off Republican control of the Statehouse this fall. McCaskill wrested the Democratic nomination from Holden by a margin of about 5 percent. Holden managed a slim lead in the St. Louis metropolitan area, but McCaskill handily won her home turf - the Kansas City region - and piled up huge margins in rural Missouri. McCaskill was leading in at least 80 percent of the state's counties, including Boone, Buchanan, Franklin, Jefferson, Greene and St. Charles. "We have to come together as a party, reach out our hands and say to all of the fine people of the state who supported Gov. Holden that we respect them, and that we welcome them to our fight against the Republicans in November," McCaskill said in her victory speech shortly after Holden conceded. Turnout was heavy statewide, with many counties posting record numbers of voters. Two constitutional amendments - to permit a casino in Rockaway Beach and bar gay marriage - fired up conservative voters. Open congressional seats in Kansas City and south St. Louis County also drew scores to the polls. Holden conceded at 11:20 p.m. in a union hall in St. Louis. He said he had called McCaskill to congratulate her and then said, "Now I want all of you to know we are all Democrats, and we're going to work to elect this Democratic ticket in November 2004." McCaskill, who awaited the results from the Marriott Muehlebach Hotel in Kansas City, said she wants Missourians "to take a clear look at the two candidates, their record, their achievements, their experience, and decide which one is more qualified to lead us forward." Holden's support for McCaskill was immediate. "The differences that Claire and I had in this campaign are minor, compared to the differences between the Democrats and what we stand for and the Republican Party," he said. "This fight goes on. This fight will never die." McCaskill and Holden planned to have a private unity breakfast at 9 a.m. today in the St. Louis area. "I really don't anticipate a problem bringing the Democrats together," she said. McCaskill campaigned as the stronger candidate against the Republicans, and that argument swayed voters like Sheila Davis of St. Louis. "I just feel Bob Holden can't get the job done, and he can't win" against Republican nominee Matt Blunt in November, she said. McCaskill had called Holden an ineffective leader, and she appealed to independent voters by promising to make government more efficient. She said Tuesday night that she'll continue that theme this fall against Blunt. While Blunt promised "a top-to-bottom review of state government, we won't need to do that," she said. "We've done that." Blunt spent election night with supporters in Jefferson City. He said, "It doesn't matter who they nominate. There's very little difference between the two (Democratic) candidates on any issue. Missourians are going to have a very clear choice - between the policies we have today and a new vision." A McCaskill victory put four women at the top of the Democratic ticket - Nancy Farmer for the U.S. Senate, McCaskill for governor, Bekki Cook for lieutenant governor and Robin Carnahan for secretary of state. McCaskill said she doubted gender would play a role in the fall election. She said voters "make up their minds based on who's qualified for office, not gender." Holden's spokesman, Caleb Weaver, blamed the economy for the governor's slide in rural areas. "He's an incumbent who had to make brutally tough decisions," Weaver said. "He's facing the worst budget situation since the Great Depression. A lot of these rural areas felt the impact of the economy shrinking worse than the rest of the state. The blame falls on the guy at the top." His supporters said they would put the primary behind them. Holden supporter Joe Bednar said: "In the end, the Democratic Party always unites going into November." Nationally, no incumbent governor had lost in a primary since 1994. Yet of the 17 gubernatorial challengers who knocked off same-party incumbents since 1970, a dozen went on to win the governor's office, according to research by Thad Beyle, a political scientist at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Holden had a big funding edge. By late last month, his campaign had spent $6.3 million compared to $3.5 million for McCaskill. McCaskill had courted the rural vote by pounding on the need for better roads and promising to establish a rural ombudsman. She criticized Holden for freezing state education funds, then releasing them days after scores of school districts increased local property taxes. The gun issue also hurt Holden in rural Missouri. Holden vetoed a concealed weapons bill, a move that he said prompted Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. to endorse McCaskill. He said she had waffled on the issue, which she denied. McCaskill said she opposes concealed weapons. Labor unions and some African-American groups, such as Freedom Inc. in Kansas City, had endorsed Holden. Holden had strong union support, evidenced by the officials who filled his election-night party at the IBEW Local 1 headquarters in St. Louis. Ken Dearing, president of UAW 325, credited Holden with keeping the Ford plant in Hazelwood open -and retaining 17,000 jobs. "He's got proven leadership abilities. He stood up for local labor," Dearing said. Many voters felt Holden had battled hard for Democratic goals, such as more money for public education, and was thwarted by Republicans. "The Legislature really had his hands tied," said Yvonne Franklin, 55, a nurse in St. Louis who voted for Holden. Holden, 54, campaigned on his record of fighting the Republicans, who won control of both the House and Senate in 2002 after a half-century of Democratic rule. His theme: "Fighting for what matters." The governor tried repeatedly to pass a tax package to raise money for schools and health care. His plan would have raised taxes on casinos, smokers, multistate businesses and wealthy Missourians. He and the GOP deadlocked on the tax package and many other issues. McCaskill, 51, said that showed Holden was an ineffective leader. She pledged to make government more efficient by implementing audit findings that have uncovered wasteful practices. She faulted him for staging a $1 million inaugural party and using state airplanes a lot. She also criticized him for freezing education funding when he thought the budget was in the red. Three days after dozens of school districts approved local property tax increases, he released the state money. Michael D. Hart, 60, a retired teacher in Festus, voted against Holden. "Mr. Holden played politics, holding back the school money, then releasing it after all the tax increases (in April). I didn't like that, being a former schoolteacher," he said. Holden has worked in government and political jobs all his life, starting as an aide to State Treasurer Jim Spainhower. Holden won a House seat from Springfield in 1982 and served three terms. He was elected treasurer twice before winning the governor's office in 2000. Two televised debates last month showed the candidates' contrast in style. McCaskill, a former prosecutor, is candid and aggressive. Holden is low-key and usually sticks to a script. About half of McCaskill's funding came from a $1.6 million loan from McCaskill and her husband, St. Louis developer Joseph A. Shepard, who has business interests in nursing homes. Holden made that an issue, running an ad attacking him and nursing homes he has owned. McCaskill said the homes have had problems but overall, they provide quality care. |