Claire McCaskill
Getting ready for the Tea Party
The Tea Party has it in for Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill, who defeated a sitting senator in 2006 in spite of being outspent two-to-one. Claire has fought to increase lending to small businesses, protect consumers from corporate malfeasance, and strengthen the middle-class by raising the minimum wage. She cosponsored legislation to close the wage gap, saying “families are shortchanged whenever a woman is denied equal pay.” Claire is a proponent of life-saving embryonic stem cell research and has repeatedly fought to expand access to family planning.
Anti-choice Republicans lining up
The GOP field includes former state treasurer/2010 Senate candidate Sarah Steelman. Dubbed “Sarah Palin with an economics degree,” Steelman is a far-right activist, beloved by the anti-choice Susan B. Anthony List. Also in the mix: self-described “original tea partier” Ed Martin, who filed more than 30 ballot initiatives to restrict choice in less than two years and boasts the endorsement of anti-feminist crusader Phyllis Schlafly; and Ann Wagner, a power fundraiser for George W. Bush, who recently ran for RNC chair.
Fighting for Missouri and American families
A graduate of Missouri public schools, Claire has fought for teacher recruitment, more Pell Grants, and legislation to educate parents. As a prosecutor, she got tough on domestic abuse and established the nation’s first drug courts. In tough economic times, Claire stood up for Missouri farmers to protect their livelihood. Polls show she’s facing a tough race in 2012, but strong support from EMILY’s List members can help her defeat a Tea Party challenge and keep fighting for women and families in the Senate.
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