McCaskill, Claire (1953-…), served as a United States senator from 2007 to 2019. McCaskill, a Democrat, represented Missouri. Prior to becoming a senator, McCaskill served as Missouri’s state auditor.
McCaskill was born in Rolla, Missouri, on July 24, 1953. At the University of Missouri-Columbia, she received a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1975 and a law degree in 1978.
McCaskill worked as a clerk for the Missouri Court of Appeals in 1978 and as an assistant prosecutor for Jackson County, Missouri, from 1978 to 1982. She served in the Missouri state House of Representatives from 1983 to 1988 and in the Jackson County Legislature, which governs the cities of Independence and Kansas City and many smaller communities, from 1990 to 1992. McCaskill was elected Jackson County prosecutor in 1992 and reelected in 1996. She won election as state auditor in 1998 and served from 1999 to 2007.
In 2004, McCaskill ran for governor of Missouri. She became the first Missourian to defeat a sitting governor in a primary election when she beat Bob Holden. However, she lost the general election to Republican Matt Blunt.
In 2006, McCaskill defeated incumbent James M. Talent in a race for the Senate. The Senate campaign gained national attention for its focus on embryonic stem cell research—that is, research using cells from human embryos. McCaskill supported, and Talent opposed, a statewide ballot measure that would prevent restrictions on conducting the research, which may help treat some diseases in people. The measure passed that November.
McCaskill was reelected to the Senate in 2012. As a senator, she became known for her work investigating fraud and wasteful spending by federal agencies and contractors. She served as a member of the Armed Services Committee and as chairman of the Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection. In 2018, McCaskill lost a reelection campaign to her Republican opponent, Josh Hawley, the state’s attorney general. After leaving the Senate, McCaskill took a job as a political analyst for a television network.
McCaskill is the coauthor, with writer Terry Ganey, of Plenty Ladylike: A Memoir (2015). The book tracks McCaskill’s life in politics and includes anecdotes from her career as a public servant.
