High Tension in a Missouri Race

Stem cell research and celebrities aside, what's at stake is business in the stateand control of the Senate

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By Richard S. Dunham

November 6, 2006 at 10:10 AM UTC

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The Senate race in Missouri pits incumbent Republican Jim Talent against Democratic challenger Claire McCaskill. But to hear all the guff about celebrity interlopers in the razor-close contest, you'd think it was a race between liberal actor Michael J. Fox and conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh. Or a popularity contest between Fox, the former star of TV's and , and Patricia Heaton, late of .

What's gotten so many people upset, and piqued the interest of business, is the close connection between the Missouri Senate race and a separate item on the Nov. 7 ballot to legalize stem cell research in the Show Me State. McCaskill, a pro-choice Democrat, is a strong supporter of the constitutional amendment to legalize embryonic stem cell research. Talent, along with pro-life celebrities such as Heaton, opposes it. Business is caught in the middle, as is often the case when social issues dominate the political world.