Bond wins historic fourth term to U.S. Senate

ST. LOUIS -- Republican Sen. Kit Bond easily won re-election on Tuesday, becoming the first Republican ever to capture four Senate terms in Missouri.

Bond defeated Democratic State Treasurer Nancy Farmer, winning 57 percent to 42 percent, with 52 percent of precincts reporting in unofficial returns. The Associated Press based Bond's victory on actual results and analysis of an exit poll of Missouri voters.

Bond and former Sen. John Danforth are the only GOP senators to have served three terms from Missouri, but Bond said he wasn't thinking about setting records.

"What I'm excited about is the opportunity to carry on for the next six years the things we've been fighting for and that I think are important," Bond said from his campaign watch party in Columbia.

Bond was the overwhelming choice of those worried most about terrorism and moral values, the exit poll analysis showed. Farmer dominated among voters who ranked the economy and jobs as their top concerns. Voter interviews were conducted for The Associated Press by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International.

Farmer said that while she wished Bond well, "I'm not going to concede the issues we raised in this campaign."

"I will never stop believing that our families deserve health care," she told Democrats gathered at a downtown St. Louis hotel. "I will never stop believing that our workers deserve dignity. I will never stop believing that our children deserve opportunity and I will never stop fighting for government that uplifts."

Nationally, Missouri was not a factor in the battle for control of the closely divided Senate, although Bond's party won enough races on Tuesday night to maintain their majority.

The exit poll analysis showed that Bond won Missouri by rolling up huge victories in the Republican stronghold of southwest Missouri, and he dominated on GOP turf in rural northern and Southeast Missouri.

He edged out Farmer in suburban St. Louis and split the Kansas City vote with Farmer, who carried the city of St. Louis.

Bond had a slight advantage among women and easily carried men, according to the exit poll analysis.

Despite his decades of service, Democrats consistently labeled Bond as a vulnerable target because he had never won more than 53 percent of the vote in his past runs for the Senate.

At 65, Bond has served three terms as senator and two terms as governor. He was state auditor before that. His campaign theme, "experience matters," emphasized his ability to deliver millions of federal dollars to Missouri from his seat on the Senate Appropriations Committee

In her campaign, Farmer blamed Bond for Missouri job losses because he supported tax policies that have prompted companies to shift production to overseas workers. But she couldn't match Bond's enormous fund-raising advantage -- $8.6. million to $3.3 million -- and barrage of television commercials.

Bond countered that as state treasurer, Farmer, 48, invested tax dollars out-of-state that could have improved the economy inside Missouri if deposits had gone to state bankers.