Sen. Claire McCaskill said Friday she spoke to Democratic candidate Chad Taylor about his chances of winning a Senate race in Kansas against Republican Sen. Pat Roberts. But she stopped short of saying she muscled him into dropping out.
The Missouri Democrat said she had a “free-ranging discussion” with Mr. Taylor, who faced a “tough decision” about whether to continue his campaign on strapped finances.
“I told him he had to think about what the outcomes could be either way,” she told MSNBC’s Morning Joe.
Mr. Taylor’s decision to drop out has turned the Kansas race on its head, as independent Greg Orman now has a greater chance of upsetting Mr. Roberts in a head-to-head race — a boon for Democrats trying to cling to their Senate majority after November’s contests.
But in a wrinkle this week, Kansas officials said Mr. Taylor’s name had to stay on the ballot due to procedural issues.
Ms. McCaskill said Friday that the secretary of state’s office in Kansas pulled a fast one on Mr. Taylor.
Speaking to MSNBC, she claimed the Democrat went to officials and asked what he had to do to remove himself from the race. He followed their guidance, she said, only to find out the next day that his name would stay on the ballot.
Turning her attention overseas, Ms. McCaskill defended President Obama for not rushing into another war in the Middle East, as the U.S. and its allies forge a strategy to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
“People still remember that we rushed into Iraq, and it hasn’t obviously turned out that well, longterm,” she said.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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