Claire McCaskill isn’t one to let a serious protest go to waste. Staring into the electoral abyss of 2018, the Missouri senator wants to capitalize on the fervor created by the Women’s March. She’s building a political list from the ranks of the protest.
On Tuesday, the Democrat asked anyone who marched at Saturday’s event to email her office. “Let’s fight together!” she tweeted. “We need to keep this going and share ideas.” Translation: By keep this going, she means her campaign. And by share ideas, she means fundraise.
During a campaign, organizing is half the battle. McCaskill knows that and it’s why she’s mining the marchers now in preparation for her race later. It also demonstrates that the Democrat’s not above appropriating a feminist movement for her own political gain. Altogether, it’s a nice bit of opportunism and could end up saving her Senate seat.
If 2016 looks anything like 2018, Democrats are at risk of slipping further into the senate minority. With 23 seats up for grabs, the midterm election could be a bloodbath for the party. Defending all those seats at once will stretch the Democrat Senatorial Committee, meaning McCaskill could be on her own. And she’s already in trouble.
Reelection will be difficult for the blue Democrat in the red state. President Trump carried Missouri by 19 points. Unless Republicans fall apart, not an unlikely possibility, that won’t change. Getting a jump now could keep her from going under at the ballot box.
Don’t count McCaskill out though. She’s showed up two Republicans in the Show Me State, overcoming Sen. Jim Talent in 2006 and then easily dispatching challenger Todd Akin in 2012. And phishing for feminist support could prove a good move if she pulls of an electoral hat trick in 2018.
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
