Claire McCaskill facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Claire McCaskill
Official portrait, 2011
United States Senator from Missouri
In office January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2019
Preceded by	Jim Talent
Succeeded by	Josh Hawley
Committee positions Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee In office January 3, 2017 – January 3, 2019 Preceded by Tom Carper Succeeded by Gary Peters
34th Auditor of Missouri
In office January 3, 1999 – January 3, 2007
Governor	Mel Carnahan Roger Wilson Bob Holden Matt Blunt
Preceded by	Margaret Kelly
Succeeded by	Susan Montee
Prosecutor of Jackson County
In office 1993–1998
Preceded by	Albert Riederer
Succeeded by	Robert Beaird
Member of the Missouri House of Representatives from the 42nd district
In office January 5, 1983 – February 2, 1988
Preceded by	James Barnes
Succeeded by	Joseph Kenton
Personal details
Born	Claire Conner McCaskill (1953-07-24) July 24, 1953 (age 72) Rolla, Missouri, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouses	David Exposito ​ ​ (m. 1984; div. 1995)​ Joseph Shepard ​ (m. 2002)​
Children	3
Education	University of Missouri (BA, JD)

Claire Conner McCaskill (born July 24, 1953) is an American politician and lawyer. She was a United States senator for the state of Missouri from 2007 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she was also the state auditor of Missouri from 1999 to 2007. A state auditor is like a financial watchdog who makes sure the government is spending money correctly.

McCaskill was born in Rolla, Missouri. She earned degrees in political science and law from the University of Missouri. Before becoming a U.S. senator, she held several jobs in Missouri's government. She was a member of the Missouri House of Representatives, a county prosecutor, and the state auditor.

In 2004, she ran for governor of Missouri but lost the election. In 2006, she was the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Missouri. She was re-elected in 2012 but lost her race for a third term in 2018. Since 2019, McCaskill has worked as a political analyst for MSNBC and NBC.

Early Life and Education

Claire McCaskill was born in Rolla, Missouri. Her father, William Young McCaskill, worked for the state government. Her mother, Betty Anne McCaskill, was the first woman elected to the city council in Columbia, Missouri.

McCaskill grew up in several small Missouri towns. In high school, she was a cheerleader, president of the Pep Club, and homecoming queen. She went to the University of Missouri and earned a degree in political science in 1975. Three years later, she got her law degree (Juris Doctor) from the same university.

After law school, she worked as a law clerk for a judge. Then, she became a prosecutor in Jackson County, Missouri, where she focused on arson cases.

Early Political Career

State and County Politics

In 1982, McCaskill was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives. Later, in 1990, she was elected to the Jackson County Legislature, which is similar to a county council.

In 1992, she was elected as the prosecutor for Jackson County, becoming the first woman to hold that job. A prosecutor is a lawyer who represents the government in court to charge people with crimes. She was re-elected in 1996.

State Auditor

Results of the 2002 Missouri Auditor General election

In 1998, McCaskill was elected as the State Auditor of Missouri. As state auditor, her job was to check how the state government and other public offices spent money. She was re-elected in 2002 with 60 percent of the vote.

2004 Governor's Race

In 2004, McCaskill decided to run for governor of Missouri. She first had to compete against the current governor, Bob Holden, in the Democratic Party's primary election. A primary is an election where voters choose who will be their party's main candidate.

McCaskill won the primary, which was a historic event in Missouri. However, she lost the main election to the Republican candidate, Matt Blunt, in a very close race. It was the first election loss in her career.

U.S. Senate

McCaskill speaks at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.

Elections

2006 Election

In 2006, McCaskill ran for the U.S. Senate against the incumbent, Jim Talent. She won the election with 50% of the vote, becoming the first woman elected to the Senate from Missouri.

2012 Election

McCaskill ran for re-election in 2012 against Republican Todd Akin. During the campaign, Akin made some controversial comments that were widely criticized, which hurt his campaign. McCaskill won the election with 55% of the vote.

Later, McCaskill wrote that her campaign had used "reverse psychology" during the primary. They ran ads that criticized Akin for being "too conservative." They hoped this would encourage conservative voters to support him, believing he would be an easier opponent to beat in the main election.

2018 Election

Campaign bus supporting McCaskill in 2018

McCaskill ran for a third term in 2018 against Republican Josh Hawley. During the campaign, it was reported that Russian hackers had tried to break into her staff's email accounts. On election day, Hawley won with 51% of the vote to McCaskill's 46%.

Time in the Senate

McCaskill visiting protesters during the Ferguson unrest

During her time in the Senate, McCaskill was known as a "moderate" Democrat. This means she sometimes voted with Republicans and sometimes with Democrats. In 2012, The Washington Post reported she was the second-most-likely Democrat to vote against her party.

Important Issues

• Health Care: McCaskill supported the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare. She worked to make sure people with pre-existing conditions (health problems they had before getting insurance) were protected.
• Armed Services: As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, she supported modernizing the military. In 2014, she introduced a bill to help protect members of the military and give them more choices in how their cases were handled.
• Gun Laws: McCaskill supported stronger background checks for buying guns. She also co-sponsored a bill to ban bump stocks, which are devices that make rifles fire faster.
• Immigration: She voted for the DREAM Act, which aimed to create a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children.
• Net Neutrality: She supported net neutrality, the idea that internet service providers should treat all data on the internet equally.

Presidential Elections

In 2008, McCaskill was one of the first senators to support Barack Obama for president. She campaigned for him and was seen as a key supporter. In 2016, she supported Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

Career After Politics

After leaving the Senate in 2019, McCaskill joined NBC News and MSNBC as a political analyst. She often appears on shows like Morning Joe to share her opinions on political events.

In 2022, she joined the Council for Responsible Social Media. This group works to address the negative effects of social media on people's health and society.

Personal Life

McCaskill has three children from her first marriage. In 2002, she married Joseph Shepard.

She is a fan of the game show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! and was once a contestant on the TV game show High Rollers. She won for four days and used her prize money to help pay off her student loans.

In 2016, she announced that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. She received treatment and made a full recovery.

Electoral history

State Auditor

She was elected Missouri State Auditor in the 1998 Missouri State Auditor election and re-elected in the 2002 Missouri State Auditor election.

Governor

Results

U.S. Senator

Images for kids

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  McCaskill campaigning for Barack Obama in 2008.

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  McCaskill speaks in Columbia, Missouri, in March 2014.

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  McCaskill and Senator Roy Blunt speaking at Rosecrans Air National Guard Base in 2014.

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  McCaskill at Camp Eggers, Afghanistan in 2010.

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  McCaskill and a congressional aide on their cellphones.

See also

In Spanish: Claire McCaskill para niños

• Barack Obama Supreme Court candidates
• Women in the United States Senate