Missouri’s top Democrat, who lost a race four years ago to Republican Matt Blunt, says though the governor’s decision not to run for a second term was obviously unexpected, perhaps it shouldn’t have come as such a shock.
Senator McCaskill (D-MO) says, "I think Governor Blunt has done a great job of reading the writing on the wall."
McCaskill says the Blunt campaign was beset by problems that would make it difficult for the governor to win re-election in November. McCaskill points to public opinion polls which continue to lag despite Missourians for Matt Blunt spending a lot of money and the governor traveling the state to make various announcements. McCaskill adds that a look at the campaign’s financial disclosure report discloses that the campaign has had to spend approximately $100,000 on attorney fees the past three months.
"Obviously, if you’re spending that kind of money on legal help there are concerns," says McCaskill.
She suggests that the lawsuit brought by former Blunt Administration attorney Scott Eckersley has placed pressure on the administration, pressure that is mounting. Eckersley sued the Blunt Administration, contending he was fired because he objected to how the administration handled its e-mails. Eckersley contended that the administration’s policy of deleting e-mails violated Missouri’s open records law.
McCaskill flatly rejects any suggestion that Blunt’s decision has handed the governor’s office over to Democrat Jay Nixon, the state Attorney General. She says Nixon will still have to run hard to win the seat against whoever emerges as the Republican candidate for governor. Nixon has a head start on whoever that is. He has been running for at least the past two years.
McCaskill successfully challenged incumbent Bob Holden in the Democratic primary for governor four years ago, but lost to Blunt in the general election.
Download/listen Brent Martin reports (:70 MP3)
