Republican Al Hanson pulled off the biggest surprise during the primary election, a 2-to-1 victory over the State Republican Party’s handpicked candidate. Hanson says he’s a Wall Street insider with extensive financial management experience. Hanson says he’d use that background to be a better auditor. Party leaders say people should not vote for Hanson, because he was convicted in Minnesota on fraud charges. Hanson says he is a changed man since leaving prison in 1979. And Hanson says he cannot see Republicans voting for the Democrat incumbent, Claire McCaskill. Hanson promises a low-budget, grassroots campaign.
