FILE – In this Nov. 6, 2018, file photo, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., steps on stage to deliver a concession speech in St. Louis. McCaskill of Missouri says she will not run for office again after losing last month to Republican Attorney General Josh Hawley in her bid for a third Senate term. But McCaskill told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that she will remain active in politics, perhaps mentoring other Democrats. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, file)
Jeff Roberson • Associated Press
The state’s top-ranking Democrat is on her way out of elective politics, taking with her the last vestiges of Missouri’s former status as a “purple” state.
Sen. Claire McCaskill’s exit is a loss not only to Missouri, which has enjoyed responsible and effective representation from her during her dozen years in the Senate, but to our national political system as well. As one of the few remaining moderates in an increasingly polarized Congress, McCaskill’s voice of reason will be missed.
McCaskill, 65, a two-term senator, lost her bid for a third term in November to Republican Josh Hawley and delivered her farewell address to the Senate on Thursday. McCaskill told the Post-Dispatch’s Chuck…
