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CBS NEWS PROJECTS CLAIRE MCCASKILLWINNER


Democrat Claire McCaskill
vs.
Republican Jim Talent (Incumbent)


CBS News Race Outlook: This was one of the hottest races to watch. McCaskill called for a timetable of about two years to get troops out of Iraq. Five fundraisers for Talent in the past year were headlined by either President Bush, First Lady Laura Bush or VP Dick Cheney. McCaskill focused on rural Missouri in this race. Her campaign believed the key to victory was to cut into Talent’s lead there. McCaskill believes that focusing too much on St. Louis and Kansas City hurt her in her gubernatorial bid. She unseated Democratic Gov. Bob Holden in the 2004 Democratic primary for Governor but narrowly lost to Republican Matt Blunt in the general election.