Rural Missourians helped McCaskill to primary victory

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Bob Holden fared poorly in Southeast Missouri and other rural areas of the state as his bid for a second term ended with Tuesday's loss to State Auditor Claire McCaskill in the Democratic primary.

Holden did well in the state's two urban areas, winning both St. Louis city and neighboring St. Louis County and finishing close behind McCaskill in Jackson County -- even managing a narrow win in the Kansas City portion of the county.

However, McCaskill was clearly the favorite of rural Democratic voters.

In all, McCaskill claimed 98 of the state's 114 counties, and 15 of 18 Southeast Missouri counties. Only Cape Girardeau, Perry and Pemiscot counties went to Holden, and those first two counties are heavily Republican and yielded relatively few Democratic votes.

Historic defeat

Holden will go down in Missouri history as the first incumbent governor to be dumped by his party's ticket. However, incumbent governors have only been able to seek re-election since 1968.

Dennis Zeigenhorn, a former Democratic state representative from Sikeston and McCaskill booster, said rural Missourians responded well to her bluntly honest approach during the campaign.

"I think Claire offers a really fresh approach to government; her word is as good as gold," said Zeigenhorn, who served in the House of Representatives with both McCaskill and Holden during the 1980s.

McCaskill claimed the Democratic nomination with 51.6 percent of the statewide vote, compared to 45.3 percent for Holden.

The results in Southeast Missouri roughly mirrored the overall outcome, with McCaskill earning 51.8 percent support in the region and Holden 43.7 percent.

Stoddard County provided McCaskill with her biggest margin of victory in the area -- nearly 21 percentage points. The race was closest in Mississippi County, where McCaskill beat Holden by a single vote.

Running on record

McCaskill campaign spokesman Glenn Campbell said her record of exposing wasteful spending and inefficient government practices during six years as state auditor helped establish her credentials as a strong leader.

"That is a message that connected well with people across the state," McCaskill said. "She's said that taxpayer money is as important in Cape Girardeau as it is in St. Louis."

Nearly 240,000 more ballots were cast in the Democratic primary for governor than in the Republican primary, which Secretary of State Matt Blunt easily won over five little-known opponents.

Independents and crossover Republicans likely accounted for the disparity, and Campbell said those voters strongly contributed to McCaskill's victory. The challenge now, he said, is to keep them on board during the Nov. 2 general election campaign against Blunt.

mpowers@semissourian.com

(573) 635-4608

COUNTY TALLIES

The percentages by which voters in 18 Southeast Missouri counties supported Gov. Bob Holden and State Auditor Claire McCaskill for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination:

County Holden McCaskill

Bollinger 47.9 48.8

Butler 45.9 50.7

Cape Girardeau 52.7 44.4

Carter 46.1 47.5

Dunklin 47.0 48.8

Iron 36.1 58.7

Madison 44.2 51.4

Mississippi 47.2 47.2

New Madrid 43.1 51.7

Pemiscot 52.2 43.5

Perry 55.3 41.9

Reynolds 41.4 52.5

Ripley 45.2 48.4

Scott 41.3 53.2

St. Francois 40.6 56.9

Ste. Genevieve 40.8 54.0

Stoddard 36.8 57.7

Wayne 43.1 52.8

Southeast Missouri 43.7 51.8

Statewide 45.3 51.6

Source: Southeast Missourian