Claire McCaskill blames Democratic Party for midterm loss

Outgoing Sen. Claire McCaskill blamed issues with the rest of her party for her solid defeat in the midterms to Republican Josh Hawley.

In an interview with NPR Friday, Ms. McCaskill accused Democrats of abandoning moderate candidates that seek the middle of the road. She said the party failed to “gain enough trust with rural Americans.”

“Will we ever get to a majority in the Senate again, much less to 60, if we do not have some moderates in our party?” Ms. McCaskill said.

The Missouri senator also criticized how her party handled Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing, which was nearly derailed by sexual assault allegations Democrats revealed at the tail end of the process.

The “spectacle that occurred” around the allegations ultimately hurt her more than a just voting against his confirmation, Ms. McCaskill said.

“There were mistakes made by my party in terms of how that was handled,” she said. “I don’t think that communication [from accuser Christine Blasey Ford] to the judiciary committee should have been kept private as long as it was.”