McCaskill narrowly wins U.S. Senate seat

A high number of voters cast ballots in Tuesday's election.

Nevada Daily Mail

In a race that stayed close and even looked like a victory for Talent in the early evening hours, Democrat Claire McCaskill unseated incumbent Jim Talent for Missouri's U.S. Senate seat by a narrow margin. Late night election returns slowly narrowed Talent's small lead, then overtook him as the urban votes were finally tallied, leaving McCaskill with about 51 percent of the vote.

Talent and McCaskill both waited in long lines to vote as they started Election Day in suburban St. Louis, according to the Associated Press -- Talent at an elementary school in Chesterfield; McCaskill less than 15 miles away at the Kirkwood community center. They then planned to drop by other polling places.

McCaskill stood in line for nearly a half-hour before she could vote, and she was glad to do it.

''I've never been so happy to wait in line,'' said McCaskill. ''To have this kind of turnout for a non-presidential race is amazing.''

Talent, who waited in line for nearly an hour before voting, said he had no regrets as the campaign ended.

''I think we worked as hard as we could,'' he said.

In the days leading up to the election, polls put Talent ahead, then McCaskill in a race that many thought was too close to call. Analysts thought that the election would hinge on the rural vote, but it turned out to be the urban vote that put McCaskill ahead, according to news reports last night.

In Vernon County, Talent led with 4,125 votes, or 57.8 percent. Talent campaigned more heavily in Vernon County than McCaskill, rallying support on at least three visits to McCaskill's lone visit to the area early in the campaign.

The race for the U.S. Congress 4th District seat was far less hotly contested, and long-time incumbent Ike Skelton, a Democrat, won over challenger James Noland.