Missouri voters are sending U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill back to the U.S. Senate for six more years.

Betty Anne McCaskill was perhaps her daughter’s biggest advocate, campaigning for her until the very end … Mrs. McCaskill died less than two weeks ago. McCaskill says her mother would have been proud that so many rural Missourians voted for her, a strong statement in so many areas pundits have said “were just too red to win.”

She tells supporters she’ll fight for them in the U.S. Senate, and has a message for those who voted for Akin, too: She says when she’s in Washington, she’s a Missourian first, and that means working with members of both parties to pass measures best for the entire state.

McCaskill defeated Todd Akin by more than 15 percent of the statewide vote.