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2012 United States Senate election in Missouri

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2012 United States Senate election in Missouri

← 2006 November 6, 2012 (2012-11-06) 2018 →
Turnout64.75%
 
Nominee Claire McCaskill Todd Akin Jonathan Dine
Party Democratic Republican Libertarian
Popular vote 1,494,125 1,066,159 165,468
Percentage 54.81% 39.11% 6.07%

McCaskill:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70-80%      80–90%
Akin:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election

Claire McCaskill
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Claire McCaskill
Democratic

The 2012 United States Senate election in Missouri was held on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the 2012 presidential election, other elections to the United States Senate in other states, as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

Incumbent Senator Claire McCaskill was unopposed in the Democratic primary and U.S. Representative Todd Akin won the Republican nomination with a plurality in a close three-way race.

Years prior, many forecasters considered Claire McCaskill to be the most vulnerable Democratic senator seeking re-election in 2012 due to the state's rightward shift. This election received considerable media coverage due to controversial comments made by the eventual Republican nominee, Todd Akin, most notably his claim that women could not get pregnant from rape. McCaskill was comfortably re-elected to a second term, with backlash against Akin from women, particularly suburban white women, being cited as the main reason. As of 2024, this was the last time the Democrats won a U.S. Senate election in Missouri.

Background

In 2006, Claire McCaskill was elected with 49.6% of the vote, narrowly defeating Republican incumbent Jim Talent.

Democratic primary

Incumbent Senator Claire McCaskill ran unopposed in the Democratic primary election.

Candidates

Nominee

Results

Democratic primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Claire McCaskill (incumbent) 289,481 100.00
Total votes 289,481 100.00

Republican primary

The Republican primary election for the United States Senate in Missouri, held on August 7, 2012, was one of the three most anticipated of summer 2012. This was due to the projected closeness of the Federal races in Missouri in November 2012, and the potential to change the control of the Senate in January 2013.[4] Democrats believed that Todd Akin would be the weakest among the likely challengers for the Senate seat, and ads attacking him as "too conservative" were largely viewed as a veiled support for his nomination.[5][6][7] In McCaskill's memoir, she revealed that she also influenced the Akin campaign by providing polling information, which some election law experts later felt would be a violation of regulations against coordination.[8]

Candidates

Nominee

Eliminated in primary

Declined

Endorsements

Todd Akin
Sarah Steelman
  • Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin[26]
  • U.S. Senator Mike Lee (Utah)[24]
  • Tea Party Express[27]
  • Susan B. Anthony List[28]
  • Jane Cunningham, state senator[29]
  • Steven Tilley, Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives
  • Rep. Jay Barnes (Jefferson City)
  • Rep. T.J. Berry (Kearney)
  • Rep. Eric Burlison (Springfield)
  • Rep. Steve Cookson (Fairdealing)
  • Rep. Sandy Crawford (Buffalo)
  • Rep. David Day (Dixon)
  • Rep. Charlie Denison (Springfield)
  • Rep. Tonny Dugger (Hartfield)
  • Rep. Kevin Elmer (Nixa)
  • Rep. Paul Fitzwater (Potosi)
  • Rep. Diane Franklin (Camdenton)
  • Rep. Ward Franz (West Plains)
  • Rep. Keith Frederick (Rolla)
  • Rep. Jeff Grisamore (Lee's Summit)
  • Rep. Casey Guernsey (Bethany)
  • Rep. Kent Hampton (Malden)
  • Rep. Galen Higdon (St. Joseph)
  • Rep. Dave Hinson (St. Clair)
  • Rep. Denny Hoskins (Warrensburg)
  • Rep. Lincoln Hough (Springfield)
  • Rep. Caleb Jones (California)
  • Rep. Delus Johnson (St. Joseph)
  • Rep. Shelley Keeney (Marble Hill)
  • Rep. Mike Lair (Chillicothe)
  • Rep. Bill Lant (Joplin)
  • Rep. Scott Largent (Clinton)
  • Rep. Mike Leara (St. Louis)
  • Rep. Donna Lichtenegger (Jackson)
  • Rep. Tom Loehner (Koeltztown)
  • Rep. Thomas Long (Battlefield)
  • Rep. Mike McGhee (Odessa)
  • Rep. Chris Molendorp (Belton)
  • Rep. Myron Neth (Liberty)
  • Rep. Don Phillips (Kimberling City)
  • Rep. Darrell Pollock (Lebanon)
  • Rep. Craig Redmon (Canton)
  • Rep. Lyle Rowland (Cedar Creek)
  • Rep. Don Ruzicka (Mount Vernon)
  • Rep. Jason Smith (Salem)
  • Rep. Sheila Solon (Blue Springs)
  • Rep. Mike Thomson (Maryville)
  • Rep. Steven Tilley (Perryville)
  • Rep. Noel Torpey (Independence)
  • Rep. Don Wells (Cabool)
  • Rep. Ray Weter (Nixa)
  • Rep. Billy Pat Wright (Dexter)
  • Rep. Anne Zerr (St. Charles)[30]

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Todd
Akin
John
Brunner
Sarah
Steelman
Undecided
Public Policy Polling September 9–12, 2011 400 ±4.9% 29% 6% 40% 26%
Public Policy Polling January 27–29, 2012 574 ±4.1% 23% 18% 32% 28%
Public Policy Polling May 24–27, 2012 430 ±4.7% 23% 25% 28% 20%
Mason-Dixon July 23–25, 2012 400 ±5.0% 17% 33% 27% 19%
Public Policy Polling August 4–5, 2012 590 ±4.0% 30% 35% 25% 8%

Results

Republican primary results by county
  Akin
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
  Brunner
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%
  Steelman
  •   30-40%
  •   40-50%
  •   50-60%
  •   60-70%
  Tied
  •   30-40%
Republican primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Todd Akin 217,404 36.05
Republican John Brunner 180,788 29.98
Republican Sarah Steelman 176,127 29.20
Republican Jerry Beck 9,801 1.62
Republican Hector Maldonado 7,410 1.23
Republican Robert Poole 6,100 1.01
Republican Mark Memoly 3,205 0.53
Republican Mark Lodes 2,285 0.38
Total votes 603,120 100.00

Libertarian primary

Jonathan Dine ran unopposed in the Libertarian primary election.

Candidates

  • Jonathan Dine, personal trainer and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2010

Results

Libertarian primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Libertarian Jonathan Dine 2,470 100.00
Total votes 2,470 100.00

General election

Candidates

  • Claire McCaskill (Democratic), incumbent U.S. Senator
  • Todd Akin (Republican), U.S. Representative
  • Jonathan Dine (Libertarian), personal trainer[10]

Debates

The first debate was held on September 21 in Columbia, Missouri and was sponsored by the Missouri Press Association.[31] Topics discussed by the three candidates included the Affordable Care Act, the future of the U.S. Postal Service, the rapid rise of college tuition, and Representative Akin's controversial comments on rape.[32]

The second and final debate was held October 18 in St. Louis. It was sponsored by the Clayton Chamber of Commerce and hosted by television station KSDK, public radio station KWMU and the St. Louis Business Journal.[33]

External links

Rape and pregnancy controversy

While making remarks on rape and abortion on August 19, 2012, Akin made the claim that women victims of what he described as "legitimate rape" rarely experience pregnancy from rape. In an interview aired on St. Louis television station KTVI-TV, Akin was asked his views on whether women who became pregnant due to rape should have the option of abortion. He replied:

Well you know, people always want to try to make that as one of those things, well how do you, how do you slice this particularly tough sort of ethical question. First of all, from what I understand from doctors, that's really rare. If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let's assume that maybe that didn’t work or something. I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child.[34]

The comments from Akin almost immediately led to an uproar, with the term "legitimate rape" being taken to imply belief in a view that some kinds of rape are "legitimate", or, alternatively, that victims who do become pregnant from rape are likely to be lying about their claims. His claims about the likelihood of pregnancy resulting from rape were widely seen as being based on long-discredited pseudoscience, with experts seeing the claims as lacking medical validity.[35][36][37] Akin was not the first to make such claims, but was perhaps one of the most prominent.[38] While some voices such as Iowa congressman Steve King supported Akin,[39] senior figures in both parties condemned his remarks and some Republicans called for him to resign.[40][41][42] In the resulting furor, Akin received widespread calls to drop out of his Senate race from both Republicans and Democrats.[43] Akin apologized after making the comment, saying he "misspoke", and he stated he planned to remain in the Senate race. This response was itself attacked by many commentators who saw the initial comments as representative of his long-held views, rather than an accidental gaffe.

The comment was widely characterized as misogynistic and recklessly inaccurate, with many commentators remarking on the use of the words "legitimate rape".[44][45][46] Related news articles cited a 1996 article in an obstetrics and gynecology journal, which found that 5% of women who were raped became pregnant, which equaled about 32,000 pregnancies each year in the US alone.[47] A separate 2003 article in the journal Human Nature estimated that rapes are twice as likely to result in pregnancies as consensual sex.[48] (See also pregnancy from rape.)

The incident was seen as having an impact upon the Republicans' chances of gaining a majority in the U.S. Senate[49] by making news in the week before the 2012 Republican National Convention and by "shift[ing] the national discussion to divisive social issues that could repel swing voters rather than economic issues that could attract them" to the Republican Party.[50] Akin, along with other Republican candidates with controversial positions on rape, lost due to backlash from women voters.[51]

Other controversies

On October 20, at a fundraiser, Akin compared McCaskill to a dog. After being criticized, Akin's campaign aide wrote on his official Twitter page that if Claire McCaskill "were a dog, she’d be a ‘Bullshitsu.’" The aide later said that he was joking.[52] Akin was caught on tape commenting that "Sen. Claire McCaskill goes to Washington, D.C., to ‘fetch' higher taxes and regulations."[53]

Fundraising

Candidate (party) Receipts Disbursements Cash on hand Debt
Claire McCaskill (D) $10,250,644 $7,689,961 $3,465,846 $0
Todd Akin (R) $2,229,189 $2,229,754 $531,559 $0
Source: Federal Election Commission[54][55]

Top contributors

Claire McCaskill Contribution Todd Akin Contribution
EMILY's List $261,390 Emerson $41,700
Simmons Cooper LLC $83,225 Crawford Group $32,750
Express Scripts $81,358 Edward Jones Investments $23,000
Bryan Cave LLP $79,245 American Pulverizer Co $20,000
Husch Blackwell $70,525 Murray Energy $18,605
Washington University in St. Louis $56,510 Essex Industries $18,000
Hallmark Cards $52,000 General Dynamics $18,000
Boeing $50,500 Washington University in St. Louis $17,000
Crawford Group $47,050 Boeing $15,700
Polsinelli Shughart PC $45,250 Patriot Machine $15,000
Source: OpenSecrets[56]

Top industries

Claire McCaskill Contribution Todd Akin Contribution
Lawyers/Law Firms $1,929,339 Retired $234,936
Retired $626,456 Leadership PACs $126,340
Women's Issues $556,681 Health Professionals $120,050
Entertainment industry $346,715 Defense Contractors $118,900
Financial Institutions $344,960 Manufacturing & Distributing $95,641
Leadership PACs $335,500 Mining $65,880
Lobbyists $279,883 Automotive $65,790
Real Estate $266,844 Republican/Conservative $64,125
Business Services $232,175 Electronics manufacturing services $42,350
Health Services/HMOs $210,533 Financial Institutions $42,250
Source: OpenSecrets[57]

Predictions

Source Ranking As of
The Cook Political Report[58] Likely D November 1, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball[59] Lean D November 5, 2012
Rothenberg Political Report[60] Likely D November 2, 2012
Real Clear Politics[61] Lean D November 5, 2012

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Claire
McCaskill (D)
Todd
Akin (R)
Other Undecided
Public Policy Polling March 3–6, 2011 612 ±4.0% 45% 44% 11%
Public Policy Polling April 28 – May 1, 2011 555 ±3.9% 46% 45% 8%
Public Policy Polling September 9–12, 2011 632 ±3.9% 45% 43% 12%
Rasmussen Reports November 9, 2011 500 ±4.5% 47% 45% 5% 3%
Public Policy Polling January 27–29, 2012 582 ±4.1% 43% 43% 14%
Rasmussen Reports March 14–15, 2012 500 ±4.5% 43% 50% 4% 4%
Rasmussen Reports April 17, 2012 500 ±4.5% 43% 48% 2% 7%
Public Policy Polling May 24–27, 2012 602 ±4.0% 44% 45% 11%
Rasmussen Reports June 7, 2012 500 ±4.5% 42% 50% 2% 7%
Mason-Dixon July 23–25, 2012 625 ±4.0% 44% 49% 7%
Rasmussen Reports July 30, 2012 500 ±4.5% 44% 47% 4% 5%
Chilenski Strategies/Missouri Scout August 8, 2012 663 ±3.8% 47% 48% 6%
Survey USA August 9–12, 2012 585 ±4.1% 40% 51% 4% 5%
Public Policy Polling August 20, 2012 500 ±4.4% 43% 44% 13%
Rasmussen Reports August 22, 2012 500 ±4.5% 48% 38% 9% 5%
Mason-Dixon August 22–23, 2012 625 ±4.0% 50% 41% 9%
Wenzel Strategies August 27–28, 2012 829 ±3.3% 42% 45% 13%
Public Policy Polling August 28–29, 2012 621 ±3.9% 45% 44% 11%
Rasmussen Reports September 11, 2012 500 ±4.5% 49% 43% 4% 4%
Wenzel Strategies September 10–11, 2012 850 ±3.3% 43% 48% 10%
Gravis Marketing September 15–16, 2012 1,959 ±2.3% 42% 44% 16%
We Ask America September 25–27, 2012 1,145 ±2.9% 46% 45% 9%
Kiley & Company September 30, 2012 600 ±3.5% 50% 41% 2% 7%
Public Policy Polling October 1–3, 2012 700 ±3.7% 46% 40% 9% 5%
Rasmussen Reports October 3, 2012 500 ±4.5% 51% 45% 1% 3%
Wenzel Strategies October 12–13, 2012 1,000 ±3.7% 45% 49% 7%
Rasmussen Reports October 19, 2012 500 ±4.5% 51% 43% 3% 3%
Public Policy Polling October 19–21, 2012 582 ±4.1% 46% 40% 6% 8%
Mason-Dixon October 23–25, 2012 625 ±4% 45% 43% 8%
WeAskAmerica October 30, 2012 1,217 ±2.9% 49% 45% 6%
SurveyUSA October 28 – November 3, 2012 589 ±4.1% 51% 36% 8% 5%
Public Policy Polling November 2–3, 2012 835 ±3.4% 48% 44% 6% 2%
Hypothetical polling
Republican primary
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Todd
Akin
John
Brunner
Blaine
Luetkemeyer
Ed
Martin
Sarah
Steelman
Other/
Undecided
Public Policy Polling April 28 – May 1, 2011 400 ±4.9% 23% 4% 18% 6% 27% 23%
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Todd
Akin
John
Brunner
Ed
Martin
Sarah
Steelman
Other/
Undecided
Public Policy Polling April 28 – May 1, 2011 400 ±4.9% 29% 6% 9% 28% 28%
General election
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Claire
McCaskill (D)
John
Brunner (R)
Other Undecided
Public Policy Polling April 28 – May 1, 2011 555 ±3.9% 47% 41% 12%
Public Policy Polling September 9–12, 2011 632 ±3.9% 46% 37% 17%
Public Policy Polling January 27–29, 2012 582 ±4.1% 43% 43% 14%
Rasmussen Reports March 14–15, 2012 500 ±4.5% 42% 49% 4% 6%
Rasmussen Reports April 17, 2012 500 ±4.5% 45% 45% 3% 7%
Public Policy Polling May 24–27, 2012 602 ±4.0% 46% 44% 11%
Rasmussen Reports June 7, 2012 500 ±4.5% 41% 51% 2% 6%
Mason-Dixon July 23–25, 2012 625 ±4.0% 41% 52% 7%
Rasmussen Reports July 30, 2012 500 ±4.5% 43% 49% 5% 3%
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Claire
McCaskill (D)
Peter
Kinder (R)
Other Undecided
Public Policy Polling November 29 – December 1, 2010 515 ±4.3% 44% 46% 10%
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Claire
McCaskill (D)
Blaine
Luetkemeyer (R)
Other Undecided
Public Policy Polling April 28 – May 1, 2011 555 ±3.9% 45% 42% 13%
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Claire
McCaskill (D)
Ed
Martin (R)
Other Undecided
Public Policy Polling March 3–6, 2011 612 ±4.0% 46% 40% 14%
Public Policy Polling April 28 – May 1, 2011 555 ±3.9% 46% 39% 15%
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Claire
McCaskill (D)
Tom
Schweich (R)
Other Undecided
Rasmussen Reports March 14–15, 2012 500 ±4.5% 43% 47% 4% 6%
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Claire
McCaskill (D)
Sarah
Steelman (R)
Other Undecided
Public Policy Polling November 29 – December 1, 2010 515 ±4.3% 45% 44% 12%
Public Policy Polling March 3–6, 2011 612 ±4.0% 45% 42% 14%
Public Policy Polling April 28 – May 1, 2011 555 ±3.9% 45% 42% 14%
Public Policy Polling September 9–12, 2011 632 ±3.9% 43% 42% 16%
Rasmussen Reports November 9, 2011 500 ±4.5% 45% 47% 3% 4%
Public Policy Polling January 27–29, 2012 582 ±4.1% 43% 44% 13%
Rasmussen Reports March 14–15, 2012 500 ±4.5% 41% 51% 4% 4%
Rasmussen Reports April 17, 2012 500 ±4.5% 42% 49% 2% 6%
Public Policy Polling May 24–27, 2012 602 ±4.0% 44% 44% 12%
Rasmussen Reports June 7, 2012 500 ±4.5% 39% 51% 3% 7%
Mason-Dixon July 23–25, 2012 625 ±4.0% 41% 49% 10%
Rasmussen Reports July 30, 2012 500 ±4.5% 43% 49% 4% 4%
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Claire
McCaskill (D)
Jim
Talent (R)
Other Undecided
Public Policy Polling November 29 – December 1, 2010 515 ±4.3% 45% 47% 8%
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Claire
McCaskill (D)
Ann
Wagner (R)
Other Undecided
Public Policy Polling March 3–6, 2011 612 ±4.0% 45% 36% 19%

Results

Even though the last poll before the election showed Akin only losing by four percentage points, McCaskill defeated him handily, by a 15.7% margin of victory and a vote margin of 427,966. Both McCaskill and incumbent governor Jay Nixon, running at the same time, were able to get a large number of votes from rural parts of the state, something President Barack Obama was not able to do. McCaskill and Nixon were declared the winners of their respective races even before results from the known big Democratic strongholds of St. Louis and Kansas City came in. Akin conceded defeat to McCaskill at 10:38 P.M. Central Time.

Time featured the race in an article on the Senate. The article mentioned that McCaskill had been fading in pre-election polls, and that she was considered the most vulnerable/endangered Democratic incumbent in 2012. However, Akin's controversial comments helped McCaskill rise in the polls and propelled her to a victory in the election.[63][64][65] In August 2015, McCaskill penned a Politico article in which she stated that in 2012, she had "successfully manipulated the Republican primary so that in the general election [she] would face the candidate [she] was most likely to beat."[66]
United States Senate election in Missouri, 2012[62]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Claire McCaskill (incumbent) 1,494,125 54.81% +5.36%
Republican Todd Akin 1,066,159 39.11% −8.20%
Libertarian Jonathan Dine 165,468 6.07% +3.83%
Write-in 41 0.01% +0.01%
Total votes 2,725,793 100.00% N/A
Democratic hold

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

By congressional district

McCaskill won 6 of 8 congressional districts, four of which were won by Republicans, including Akin's own district.[67]

District McCaskill Akin Representative
1st 86.93% 13.22% Lacy Clay
2nd 51.97% 42.77% Todd Akin (112th Congress)
Ann Wagner (113th Congress)
3rd 47.02% 46.49% Russ Carnahan (112th Congress)
Blaine Luetkemeyer (113th Congress)
4th 48.65% 43.28% Vicky Hartzler
5th 66.48% 27.61% Emanuel Cleaver
6th 50.72% 41.98% Sam Graves
7th 41.77% 51.1% Billy Long
8th 46.3% 47.76% Jo Ann Emerson

See also

References

  1. ^ Quinn, Kay (November 24, 2010). "Senator Claire McCaskill says Washington more polarized, voters more cynical". KSDK-TV. Retrieved November 24, 2010.
  2. ^ Lambrecht, Bill (December 23, 2010). "McCaskill: "I will have to work very hard" to get re-elected". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  3. ^ a b c "State of Missouri - Primary Election - August 7, 2012". MO Secretary of State. August 8, 2012. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  4. ^ Aaron Blake; Sean Sullivan (August 7, 2012). "Primary day: Five things watch for in Missouri, Michigan and Washington". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 7, 2012.
  5. ^ Schultheis, Emily (August 3, 2012). "McCaskill ad calls Akin 'too conservative' for Missouri". Politico. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  6. ^ "McCaskill meddles in GOP primary". POLITICO. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  7. ^ McDermott, Kevin; Pistor, Nicholas J.C. (August 2012). "Is Claire McCaskill helping Todd Akin in the GOP primary?". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  8. ^ Helling, Dave (August 12, 2015). "McCaskill-Akin tale raising questions in legal, political communities". Kansas City Star. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  9. ^ Miller, Sean (May 17, 2011). "Rep. Akin joins Missouri Senate race, setting up primary fight". The Hill. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Williams, Kari (May 23, 2012). "Business perspective needed in Washington, Brunner says". Call Newspapers. Archived from the original on June 23, 2013. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
  11. ^ Wagman, Jake (October 3, 2011). "Frontenac Republican joins Senate race, aims to unseat McCaskill". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
  12. ^ Miller, Joshua (October 3, 2011). "Brunner Enters Missouri Senate Race". Roll Call. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
  13. ^ Catanese, David (December 1, 2010). "Inaugural scoop: Steelman files for Senate". Politico. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
  14. ^ Catanese, David (February 22, 2011). "Emerson to pass on Senate bid". Politico. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
  15. ^ Wagman, Jake (February 3, 2011). "Sam Graves says no to running for U.S. Senate". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved February 3, 2011.
  16. ^ Catanese, David (November 18, 2011). "Kinder endorses Dave Spence". Politico. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
  17. ^ Miller, Joshua (May 13, 2011). "Luetkemeyer Will Not Seek Missouri Senate Bid". Roll Call. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
  18. ^ D'Aprile, Shane (May 9, 2011). "Missouri Republican Ed Martin shifts to House race instead of Senate bid". The Hill. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
  19. ^ Trygstad, Kyle (March 20, 2012). "Missouri: No Senate Bid for Tom Schweich". Roll Call. Archived from the original on August 18, 2012. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
  20. ^ Lambrecht, Bill (January 27, 2011). "Talent says no to Missouri Senate bid". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  21. ^ Miller, Joshua (April 26, 2011). "Wagner Moves Toward Bid for Akin's Seat in Missouri". Roll Call. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
  22. ^ Wagman, Jake (April 26, 2011). "Ann Wagner moves toward Congressional run". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
  23. ^ Miller, Joshua (October 25, 2011). "Ann Wagner Definitively Rules Out Senate Bid". Roll Call. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
  24. ^ a b c d e f g Livingston, Abby (March 29, 2012). "Conservative Senators Pick Sides in Texas, Missouri and Maine Primaries". Roll Call. Archived from the original on August 16, 2012. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
  25. ^ a b c d e f g "Todd Akin's Latest Endorsements | Todd Akin for U.S. Senate 2012 | Missouri". Akin.org. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
  26. ^ "Governor Palin Endorses Sarah Steelman in Republican Senate Primary". Sarahsteelman.com. July 17, 2012. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
  27. ^ "2012 Endorsements". Tea Party Express. January 27, 2012. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
  28. ^ "Sarah Steelman - Missouri Senate - SBA-List". Retrieved November 3, 2018.[permanent dead link]
  29. ^ Yokley, Eli (July 20, 2012). "Cunningham backs Steelman Senate bid". Politicmo.com. Archived from the original on July 25, 2012. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
  30. ^ "Leaders All Across Missouri and America are Supporting Sarah Steelman for U.S. Senate!". Sarah Steelman. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
  31. ^ Held, Kevin. "Missouri gubernatorial, U.S. Senate debates this Friday in Columbia". Associated Press. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
  32. ^ Palosaari, Ben. "The best jabs of the Missouri Senate debate". Pitch News. Archived from the original on September 24, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
  33. ^ "Mo. Senate candidates to debate in St. Louis area". Associated Press. Retrieved October 4, 2012.[permanent dead link]
  34. ^ Jaco, Charles (August 19, 2012). "The Jaco Report: August 19, 2012". Fox News. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
  35. ^ "A Canard That Will Not Die: 'Legitimate Rape' Doesn't Cause Pregnancy". The Atlantic. August 19, 2012. Retrieved August 21, 2012.[permanent dead link]
  36. ^ Graham, David A. (August 22, 2012). "Video of the Day: 'Forcible Rape' and Paul Ryan's Akin Problem". The Atlantic. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
  37. ^ Belluck, Pam (August 21, 2012). "Health Experts Dismiss Assertions on Rape". The New York Times. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  38. ^ Kliff, Sarah (August 20, 2012). "Rep. Todd Akin is wrong about rape and pregnancy, but he's not alone". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 22, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  39. ^ "Rep. Steve King backs up Todd Akin, weighs in on rape and abortion". CBS News. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
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