Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill Beats Antigay Todd Akin in Missouri

Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill has defeated antigay Republican Todd Akin for U.S. Senate from Missouri. Akin, a U.S. House member seeking to move up to the Senate, became infamous this year with his remark about women's bodies being able to prevent pregnancy in cases of "legitimate rape," but his antigay rhetoric is just as mind-boggling. He said expansion of the federal hate-crimes law would actually "increase hatred," and he referred to repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" as "an eclipse of reason." He tried to create a "conscience protection clause" for military personnel, including chaplains, who object to open service of gay members of the military. And he sponsored an amendment to ban the use of military bases for same-sex weddings. When President Obama endorsed marriage equality in May, Akin put out a press release saying, "The Obama administration has once again revealed its unquenchable desire to tear down the traditional family unit brick by brick."

McCaskill has distanced herself from President Obama's endorsement of marriage equality, but she has supported other gay causes much of the time, receiving ratings in the 80s from the Human Rights Campaign for her voting record.