Add Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill To List Of Democrats Skipping National Convention

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Written By:
Rob Port

Jun 26, 2012
12:40pm

New York Democrat Reps. Bill Owens and Kathy Hochul are skipping the Democrats’ national convention in Charlotte (the same one that is having financial problems). Pennsylvania Rep. Mark Critz is skipping it too as are Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, Sen. Joe Manchin and Rep. Nick Rahall from West Virginia.

Now add Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill to the list:

McCaskill had missed the state Democratic convention several weeks ago because her mother has been ill. She did make the party’s biggest fundraising event of the year, the Jefferson-Jackson dinner, last Friday.

McCaskill also skipped the 2004 Democratic presidential convention in Boston because she was engaged in a spirited contest for governor. McCaskill was in a difficult political position that year because she was challenging a fellow Democrat already holding the office, then-Gov. Bob Holden.

The national convention that year was held in late July, just weeks before Missouri’s 2004 presidential primary, in which McCaskill defeated Holden. She lost that November to the Republican nominee, Matt Blunt.

All of these Democrats say that it’s just a scheduling issue, but clearly the issue is how closely they want to be associated with their national party, and President Obama, in a tough election year.

But it has to be all for show, right? If re-elected, these Democrats would almost assuredly be party loyalists for the most part, right?

Because if this was anything more than for show, you’d expect them to leave their party entirely.

Update: Add Montana Senator Jon Tester to the list of Democrats skipping, too.