Black voters in St. Louis who listen to urban radio are being subjected to a barrage of misinformation about the U.S. Senate race on November 6, but black leaders are clear in their support of incumbent U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri).
“Claire McCaskill has stood with me in defense of Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and the right to vote,” said U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay (D-Missouri). “Holding her seat is essential, not just for Missouri, but for our nation.”
The national interest that Clay referenced involves the Republican majorities in both houses of Congress and their enabling of President Trump’s destructive policies. Both national parties, as well as national media, have focused on this race because its outcome could be critical to whether Republicans maintain control of the Senate. McCaskill’s Republican opponent, Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, has been unwavering in his support of Trump.
“I’ve met with her opponent, Josh Hawley, and he did not give me false hope, or any hope, that he would support my issues,” said the Rev. Darryl Gray, a police accountability protest leader and former Kansas state senator. “He was clear and has been consistent that he would follow the lead of the current president. That alone was enough for me to fully support McCaskill.”
Michael Butler, Democratic nominee for St. Louis recorder of deeds on the November 6 ballot with McCaskill, pointed out some key issues where Hawley’s election would further tilt the Congress away from the public good.
“Claire’s opponent would immediately support efforts of his party and his president to roll back civil rights and consumer protections that we depend on to have a fair chance at success in this country,” Butler said.
St. Louis County Councilwoman Hazel Erby (D-1st District) pointed out other policy areas where Hawley would do further damage.
“Congress and the current administration plans to continue their efforts to slash Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and the Affordable Care Act as soon as they are given the opportunity,” Erby said. “We desperately need a Congress that will fight for these critical issues that impact our community. Claire’s opponent has ads stating that he will be a rubber stamp for the current president.”
Hawley’s “rubber stamp” support of Trump is critical in that the Senate confirms crucial presidential appointments, including U.S. Supreme Court nominees.
However, black leaders do not only support McCaskill as a better alternative to what Hawley has said he would do if elected. She also has earned their support for her track record in the U.S. Senate.
“I support Senator Claire McCaskill because she has a proven track record of fighting for working families by protecting our healthcare, standing up against big drug companies, and she supports the proposed minimum wage increase,” said St. Louis Comptroller Darlene Green, a Democrat.
Green referred to Proposition B on the November 6 ballot, which would raise the state’s minimum wage to $12 by 2023. McCaskill endorsed the measure; Hawley opposes it.
Karla May, a state representative who is the Democratic nominee for the 4th Missouri Senate District on the November 6 ballot, mailed 5,000 pieces informing voters in her district about McCaskill’s support for Proposition B, the minimum wage increase, as well as McCaskill’s fight against so-called “Right to Work” legislation, which May called “right to work for less.”
Meanwhile, May’s mailer pointed out, Hawley “is fighting against your right to vote, fighting against the Affordable Care Act, fighting to lower wages in our state, fighting for right to work for less.”
May also reminded voters of something that many may have forgotten: “Our Senator Claire McCaskill stood with and supported President Barack Obama.” Indeed, McCaskill was a very early – and crucial – supporter of Obama in his uphill primary fight against Hillary Clinton.
One of the rising stars in St. Louis politics – Wesley Bell, the Democratic nominee for St. Louis County prosecutor on the November 6 ballot, who slayed the giant of incumbent Bob McCulloch in the August primary – said McCaskill inspired one of his key policy stands.
“I believe diversion programs (i.e., drug treatment and mental health care programs) are imperative to making a safer St. Louis, but just as importantly, these programs help people,” Bell said. “Claire McCaskill was the first to bring diversion programs to Missouri.”
McCaskill also earned black leaders’ support, not only for her policy stands, but also for her tenacity in advancing them.
“Claire McCaskill has spent her life fighting for people in St. Louis and all across Missouri,” said state Senator Jamilah Nasheed (D-St. Louis). “I know she’ll stop at nothing to improve our lives, our state and our country.”
Some progressives have attacked McCaskill for her centrism in a state where Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton by a half-million votes. Rev. Darryl Gray is a progressive who has pushed McCaskill to the left, not always with success, but he will vote for her and warns against the danger of casting a protest vote on November 6.
“I know progressives who believe a vote against McCaskill is their only avenue of protest against a Democratic Party that has not been too welcoming,” Gray said. “But there are groups of people and communities that need your vote and cannot afford your protest. The results of this election could literally mean life or death for many Americans and others around the world already living in fear, famine, and frustration.”
St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura O. Jones, another of the region’s rising progressive Democratic political stars, strongly agreed.
“Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said that our lives begin to end the day that we become silent about the things that matter,” Jones said. “This November 6, I can’t think of anything that matters more than our community coming out in full force to re-elect U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill. Our vote is our voice and we must use it to keep Claire in office.”
