March 14, 2006

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Scan) - Democratic Party candidate Claire McCaskill remains ahead in the Show Me State, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. 43 per cent of respondents in Missouri would vote for McCaskill in this year's election to the United States Senate, while 40 per cent would support Republican incumbent Jim Talent.

(Angus Reid Global Scan) - Democratic Party candidate Claire McCaskill remains ahead in the Show Me State, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. 43 per cent of respondents in Missouri would vote for McCaskill in this year's election to the United States Senate, while 40 per cent would support Republican incumbent Jim Talent.

Talent was first elected to the U.S. Senate in a 2002 special ballot, defeating Democrat Jean Carnahan—the widow of former governor Mel Carnahan—with 52 per cent of the vote. Talent had previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 2001.

McCaskill has served as Missouri's state auditor since 1998. She lost the 2004 gubernatorial election to Republican Matt Blunt by 2.9 percentage points.

The senatorial election will take place in Nov. 7. On that same day, Missouri voters will have their say on a special ballot measure which seeks to enshrine the right to stem cell research in the state constitution. In January, McCaskill pledged to support the initiative, declaring, "Never in the history of our great nation has America turned her back on groundbreaking research."

Polling Data

Who would you vote for in the election for the United States Senate?

	Mar. 2006	Jan. 2006	Nov. 2005
Claire McCaskill (D)	43%	46%	47%
Jim Talent (R)	40%	43%	45%
Other / Not sure	17%	11%	8%

Source: Rasmussen Reports
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 500 likely Missouri voters, conducted on Mar. 6, 2006. Margin of error is 4.5 per cent.