Abortion politics may have had role in GOP primary for auditor

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- State Republican Party officials were shocked when Al Hanson won a sweeping victory over their hand-picked candidate in the party primary for state auditor.

Hanson hadn't raised or spent much money. He had no commercials. He seemed to have done little campaigning.

Yet Hanson did at least one important thing that was not done by Jay Kanzler, the Washington University attorney personally recruited by Republican leaders as their intended challenger to Democratic Auditor Claire McCaskill.

Hanson responded to a Missouri Right to Life survey, which listed him as pro-life in a voter guide mailed to at least 84,000 Missouri households -- reaching likely Republican primary voters.

Kanzler said did not respond to the survey because he believed the questions were better asked of legislative candidates and had little relevance to the job of state auditor.

So Kanzler was specifically listed on the Right to Life voter guide as not responding -- a designation that can carry negative connotations for abortion rights opponents.

"I think our membership does perceive that a 'no response' indicates they are not interested in our endorsement," said Patty Skain, executive director of Missouri Right to Life. "And there's some question as to whether they are actually pro-life."

Calls and e-mails

After the voter guide came out, Kanzler said his campaign received at least dozen phone calls or e-mails from people saying they wouldn't vote for him unless he revealed his position on abortion.

Kanzler described himself as pro-life to those who inquired.

But for everyone who bothered to track down Kanzler's number or e-mail address, there doubtless were many others who did not.

Republican Party spokesman Scott Baker said the fact that Hanson's name was listed first on the ballot -- and has a nice sound -- is still the best theory about why Hanson won.

But that theory assumes tens of thousands of Missourians were just randomly casting votes. Hanson carried every county in the state, winning with 65 percent of the vote -- 233,699 to Kanzler's 123,561.

The margin makes it likely that some Missourians were casting intentional, informed votes.

No comment from Hanson

Hanson, on vacation in Minnesota last week, said he wasn't ready to talk about his primary victory, but he does plan to campaign for the Nov. 5 general election, despite a Republican Party request he drop out.

While acknowledging his lack of response to the Missouri Right to Life survey may have influenced some voters, Kanzler said, "I don't think it was that big of a factor" in the outcome of the election.

Kanzler did respond to a survey from the Missouri Catholic Conference, indicating that tax dollars should not pay for abortions or go to groups providing abortions. Hanson gave the same response.

But Kanzler did not respond to a Catholic survey question on whether the federal government should prohibit human cloning or research that destroys human embryos or stem cells -- another hot issue among right-to-life supporters. Hanson supported a government ban.

Kanzler said in an interview he has not yet formulated an opinion on the issue.

The survey results are sent to all Catholics in Missouri, about 849,000 with children included, said Candy Smith, communications director for the Missouri Catholic Conference.

"What we're hearing back from the people in the pews is it matters a lot if candidates don't respond to the survey," said Smith, adding that she didn't know the effect of not responding to a particular question.

Skain said several people called Missouri Right to Life after the election wondering if they had done the right thing by voting for Hanson based on his pro-life listing and Kanzler's lack of a response.

Although listing Hanson as pro-life, the group did not officially endorse anyone in the auditor's race. Skain said that's because the group had not considered Hanson a serious challenger to McCaskill.

But she added: "He is obviously pro-life and the other person was obviously not interested in our endorsement. ... I do know that at least some people made use of that information."