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Issue: 1147 Date: 8/16/2012
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Clay tops Carnahan in Mo. congressional primary
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - William Lacy Clay Jr. defeated Russ Carnahan on Tuesday in a congressional primary battle of two Democratic incumbents caused by the once-a-decade redrawing of the state's political boundaries.
After an often-contentious campaign that pitted the scions of two of the state's most prominent political families, Clay prevailed for a shot at Missouri's 1st Congressional District seat with 63 percent of the vote, according to unofficial election results. Carnahan received 34 percent of the vote in the St. Louis district. Candice Britton, never considered a threat to the established Democrats, finished third with 3 percent.
The primary was one of 11 races nationwide this year forcing incumbent members of Congress to run against each other because of redistricting. The 1st District was crafted by Missouri's Republican-led legislature when the state lost one of its nine congressional districts after the 2010 Census.
Carnahan chose to face Clay rather than seek an open seat in the 2nd District created after Rep. Todd Akin decided to run in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate.
In an interview with The Associated Press following his defeat, Carnahan said he had no regrets.
"These district lines chose me," said Carnahan, who first won election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2004 and previously spent four years as a Missouri lawmaker. "The candidates had to go out there and earn it. ... It was like two people on the same (sports) team competing for the starting job at the same position."
Carnahan's grandfather served in Congress and his father, Mel Carnahan, was governor of Missouri before dying in a 2000 plane crash while campaigning for U.S. Senate. Russ Carnahan won his first election three weeks after his father's death, and his younger sister Robin is Missouri's secretary of state.
Clay is the namesake of his father, William Lacy Clay Sr., who represented St. Louis in the House for 32 years and succeeded by his son after the 2000 election.
The elder Clay stood nearby while his son declared victory Tuesday night in a St. Louis ballroom, never mentioning his congressional colleague by name but decrying what he considered a less-than-collegial campaign.
"It's not about attack ads," Clay said, alluding to Carnahan campaign ads that called his rival "Payday Clay" for his support of rent-to-own retailers. "It's not about negative ads and deceit ... I'm so glad it backfired."
The primary contest was also magnified by the election's racial implications. Carnahan is white and Clay black, with the newly drawn district containing a majority of racial minorities. A Clay loss would have left St. Louis without a black member of Congress for the first time in more than four decades.
Clay will face Republican Robyn Hamlin in the general election. Hamlin defeated Martin D. Baker in Tuesday's GOP primary.
The other six members of Congress from Missouri seeking re-election faced far easier paths to November's general election. Two incumbents - 3rd District Republican Blaine Luetkemeyer and Democrat Emanuel Cleaver of the 5th District - advanced without primary opposition.
And Reps. Vicky Hartzler, Sam Graves, Billy Long and Jo Ann Emerson each prevailed by wide margins in their Republican primaries against lesser-known candidates.
In the 2nd District, former state Republican Party Chairwoman Ann Wagner defeated three challengers in the GOP primary. She will face one of four Democratic challengers seeking their party's nomination. |
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