Outgoing Sen. Claire McCaskill
Claire Conner McCaskillRepublicans fret over divisive candidates Greitens Senate bid creates headache for GOP The Hill's Morning Report - Biden tasks Harris on border; news conference today MORE (D-Mo.) says that the "spectacle" surrounding Brett Kavanaugh
Brett Michael KavanaughBiden's court-packing theater could tame the Supreme Court's conservatives Trump knocks CNN for 'completely false' report Gaetz was denied meeting NY Times beclowns itself by normalizing court-packing 'to balance the conservative majority' MORE's nomination to the Supreme Court this fall was key to her electoral defeat.
McCaskill explained during an interview Thursday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that GOP voters in her state appeared to be more energized after Kavanaugh's nomination was nearly derailed in the Senate following allegations of sexual misconduct.
"Up until the Kavanaugh stuff, we really weren't seeing that enthusiasm on the Republican side," McCaskill said. "There was a double-digit difference in enthusiasm between the blue side and the red side of the equation in our state until Kavanaugh."
"And then it popped up," she continued. "And frankly, it popped up even slightly higher than our level of enthusiasm. So what that whole spectacle did was get a whole lot of people off the couch, and it really made the difference."
McCaskill, who has served in the Senate since 2007, was defeated by Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley
Joshua (Josh) David HawleyHillicon Valley: Apple approves Parler's return to App Store | White House scales back response to SolarWinds, Microsoft incidents | Pressure mounts on DHS over relationship with Clearview AI 15 Senate Republicans pledge to oppose lifting earmark ban Is the antidote to bad speech more speech or more regulation? MORE (R) by 6 points in last month's midterm elections, helping the GOP expand its Senate majority from 51-49 to 53-47, while Democrats retook the House.
President Trump
Donald TrumpHouse votes to condemn Chinese government over Hong Kong Former Vice President Walter Mondale dies at age 93 White House readies for Chauvin verdict MORE previously won Missouri by about 18 points over Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonPelosi on power in DC: 'You have to seize it' Cuba readies for life without Castro Chelsea Clinton: Pics of Trump getting vaccinated would help him 'claim credit' MORE (D) in the 2016 election.
McCaskill told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Wednesday that she does not plan to ever return to public office, but that she hopes to help the Democratic Party in other ways.
“I am not going to disappear,” McCaskill said. “I am going to help and I think I can help in terms of the party recruiting good candidates, being prepared. I envision trying to help teach candidates some of the basics."
