Robin Carnahan

U.S. Senate, MO

A marquee race in a swing state.When GOP Sen. Kit Bond announced he would not run for re-election, the 2010 race for U.S. Senate in Missouri vaulted to the top of the Democratic takeover list. And when Missouri’s secretary of state, Robin Carnahan, announced she’d run, she put Democrats in a strong position to pick this seat up and strengthen the majority in the Senate. Carnahan brings to this race a solid record of leadership and proven bipartisan appeal in a classic swing state. One of only two Democrats to win statewide in her 2004 secretary of state campaign, she easily won re-election in 2008, earning more votes than any other candidate in Missouri history.

A reformer with deep Missouri roots. As secretary of state, Carnahan has cracked down on financial fraud, cut costs and red tape for businesses, protected consumers, and safeguarded the integrity of elections. A fifth-generation Missourian, she comes from one of the most respected families in the state. Her late father, Mel, was governor; her mother, Jean, was Missouri’s first woman U.S. senator; her brother Russ is a congressman, as was her grandfather. She still manages her family’s 700-acre farm in rural Missouri.

Increasing the majority in the Senate. Winning Republican-held seats like this one is critical for Democrats to increase the majority in the Senate -- the votes needed to overcome GOP filibusters and allow for passage of President Obama’s progressive agenda. Robin Carnahan has the talent and political will to run a winning campaign, but she will need vast resources to overcome Republican determination to hold this seat -- as much as $15 million. Early support from EMILY’s List members will help her build a strong grassroots organization that can fight back against right-wing attacks and move this seat into the Democratic column.

More About Robin Carnahan

When GOP Sen. Kit Bond announced he would not run for reelection, the 2010 race for U.S. Senate in Missouri vaulted to the top of the Democratic takeover list. And when Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan announced she’d run, she put Demo - crats in a strong position to pick up this seat and achieve a filibuster- proof 60-vote majority. Carnahan quickly cleared the Democratic field of challengers, while a fight is brewing between two well-known, ultra-conservative Republicans: Cong. Roy Blunt and former state Treasurer Sarah Steelman. Either would be a formidable opponent in a state where the partisan balance of power has swung back and forth for decades.

A dynamic, reform-minded secretary of state, Carnahan has focused on protecting consumers, cutting costs and red tape for businesses, and safeguarding voting rights and the integrity of elections. Her office has taken on high-profile cases of fraud, including spearheading the national effort to help more than 40,000 investors recoup losses from Wachovia Securities, resulting in a $9 billion settlement. She created the Missouri Investor Protection Center and an Investor Bill of Rights to educate consumers on the financial industry. To help small businesses, Carnahan consolidated state services online -- launching a “one-stop shop” where people can find information and file documents electronically, saving Missouri businesses nearly $10 million over the past few years. As the state’s top elections official, Carnahan implemented Missouri’s first statewide voter registration system, created the Missouri Voting Rights Center, and launched an interactive election results web site.

Carnahan is a fifth-generation Missourian who comes from a family renowned for public service. Her grandfather was a congressman; her late father, Mel, was governor; her mother, Jean, was Missouri’s first woman U.S. senator; and her brother Russ represents Missouri’s third district in Congress. An attorney with a background in international trade and development, Robin Carnahan carries on this proud tradition -- and still manages her family’s 900-acre cattle farm in rural Missouri.

The Political Situation

Missouri is known for hardball politics and nail-bitingly close contests. Three of the last four U.S. Senate races were decided by margins of less than 2.5 percent, and the 2008 presidential contest came down to a margin of just 0.1 percent. The 2010 Senate race is expected to be no different.

Like Carnahan, Blunt comes from a political family: his father was a state legislator and his son was governor. His first job in politics in the 1970s was campaign driver for John Ashcroft. Elected to Congress from Springfield in 1996, Blunt joined Texas Republican Tom DeLay’s inner circle and quickly became a leader of the right-wing cabal that controlled the House with an iron fist, backed the Bush agenda in Iraq, and drove the country into fiscal crisis. Like Ashcroft and DeLay, Blunt is a farright conservative with a 100 percent anti-choice voting record.

Blunt is a true Washington insider. In 2002, he tried to slip a provision favorable to tobacco giant Philip Morris into a homeland security bill. At the time, he was dating a lobbyist for Philip Morris’s parent company, whom he later married -- an occasion that prompted DeLay to temporarily suspend House regulations so that lobbyists could give the newlyweds gifts without disclosing their value. Blunt has done favors for and taken money from Jack Abramoff and associates and has, during his career, raised millions in campaign funds from the financial, pharmaceutical, and oil and gas industries. More than $1.5 million of the $2.5 million Blunt raised for his 2008 campaign came from PACs.

Steelman, who has been called “Sarah Palin with an economics degree,” is also extremely right-wing and anti-choice. She has run two statewide campaigns, including an unsuccessful bid for governor in 2008. While she styles herself as a populist outsider, Steelman is quite wealthy and loaned over $700,000 to her gubernatorial campaign. Whether the nominee is Steelman or Blunt, the Republican establishment and right-wing special interests will spend millions to prevent Democrats from attaining a 60-vote super-majority.

A proven vote-getter, Carnahan won more votes than any candidate in Missouri history in her 2008 re-election. Her farming background and rural roots will help her among rural voters, whose support proved critical to Democrat Claire McCaskill’s 2006 Senate victory. While early polling shows her leading Blunt and Steelman, both are within striking distance. This will be a long and costly battle. Carnahan needs early support to raise $13 million and move this seat into the Democratic column.

The Issues

“I’m running for Senate because I want to bring accountability and change to Washington,” says Carnahan. “For me, public service is about solving problems and creating opportunities for people to improve their lives.”

Carnahan is committed to strengthening public education and making college affordable and accessible to all. “If we are really going to compete in the global economy and have the best trained workforce, we must invest in education,” she says. “Whether it’s creating alternative energy technologies to lessen our dependence on foreign oil, or medical advancements to develop a cure for cancer, the first steps take place in classrooms.” Carnahan supports investing in teacher recruitment and training, and amending and funding the No Child Left Behind Act.

Carnahan favors tax credits for child and elder care to help families balance work and home responsibilities, as well as existing policies such as the Family and Medical Leave Act. Expanding broadband access and strengthening the nation’s telecommunications infrastructure would increase options for working parents to telecommute and foster a more mobile, flexible, and energy- efficient workforce.

“For several years, I served at the Export-Import Bank of the United States, helping American companies increase their sales of goods and services abroad,” Carnahan says. “I support trade policies that increase exports while taking into account international human rights, labor, environmental, and safety standards. We must also enforce trade laws to make sure China and other countries live up to their obligations under existing treaties.”

Noting the fiscal damage wrought by eight years of Republican economic policies, Carnahan thinks the federal budget should invest in job creation and workforce development, health care, pre-school through college education, energy independence, and national security. “We need to restore fiscal discipline and address our growing national debt after the fiscally irresponsible policies of the past eight years,” she says. This includes restoring fairness to the tax code, providing tax relief to the middle class, lowering the tax burden on small businesses, and rewarding companies that create jobs in the U.S.

Between the global economic crisis and terrorism, “our country faces threats like never before,” Carnahan says. Retooling the defense budget to deal with modern threats is key -- as is making sure active duty troops have proper equipment, improving military housing and education benefits, and providing veterans with the care they have earned. Carnahan supports funding for cyber-intelligence and to support first responders.

Restoring America’s image abroad is a top priority, says Carnahan, who worked with emerging democracies through the National Democratic Institute. “My international experience with NDI gives me a unique perspective on foreign relations and the use of diplomacy,” she says. “I look forward to putting this to use in the Senate.”

Carnahan lauds recent passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, but notes that more work must be done to achieve full pay equity. She supports fully enforcing existing civil rights laws, including Title IX and the Voting Rights Act, and instituting policies to ensure equal opportunity for women and minorities in business, government contracting, and education.

“Our country has been waging a war on crime for decades,” Carnahan says. “It’s time to do a full-service review and see what has worked and what has not.” Carnahan supports fully funding the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program, which would put 50,000 police officers on the street. “I also believe that investing in community programs, jobs, education, and health care will help ensure public safety,” she says.

As a breast cancer survivor, Carnahan understands the challenges of navigating the health care system. She supports health care reform that increases accessibility and addresses rising costs. The current crisis is “costing us jobs, hurting the economy, and burdening our families,” she says. “People who are happy with their coverage must be able to keep it, but we need to ensure that small businesses and families can afford coverage.” She favors public and private options, including incentives for small businesses to cover employees. “People with pre-existing conditions should not be penalized or denied coverage,” she adds, “and we need portability so that folks can maintain coverage when they move or change jobs.”

Carnahan says developing clean and renewable energy sources, including biomass, wind, and solar, “will create jobs and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.” She supports efforts to address the threat of global warming and decrease emissions and pollution. These include retrofitting homes and businesses to make them more energy efficient, providing incentives for energy- efficient transportation, and expanding recycling programs. “I also support conservation efforts to preserve natural parks and areas for recreation, hunting, and fishing,” she adds.

A steadfast supporter of reproductive rights, Carnahan favors expanding access to comprehensive sex education and contraception to reduce unwanted pregnancies. “Reproductive decisions should be made by a woman in consultation with her doctor, her family, and her clergy,” she says.

May 2009