Life inside the 2006 Missouri Senate Race
Matt Knipp, WG'07
Issue date: 12/4/06 Section: Insider
- Page 1 of 3 next >
Despite the commonly held beliefs of many of my classmates, my absence at the beginning of this year was not related to my summer experience in Las Vegas. I opted to go back to Missouri to work on what arguably became the biggest Senate race in the country.
The Democrats needed to win six seats to regain the majority and Missouri was pivotal to that equation. Like many of the other Democratic candidates, we were taking on an incumbent Republican Senator, who held nearly a three to one financial edge and had the Senior Senator on his side, a ranking member on the Appropriations (Pork) Committee. Given these obstacles, we had an uphill battle. However, we did have a few things working for us: an unpopular war in Iraq, a Republican-controlled congress perceived by many to be corrupt and ineffective and, of course, George W. Bush.
Campaign life is unlike any other. From the family slandering media campaign calling our candidate a lying, no-tax paying, married-a-rich-guy-with-an-offshore-business to the Michael J. Fox/Rush Limbaugh "Michael is fake-shaking" episode, we had quite a run.
The whole journey began with a call from then candidate, State Auditor Claire McCaskill, while I was sitting poolside, enjoying another weekend in Vegas. From there, it was akin to first year, post-offer recruiting as calls of encouragement came from the offices of people with names like Schumer, Reid, Gephardt, and even Clinton (not Hillary). As if spending the summer in Las Vegas wasn't surreal enough, my life quickly became very interesting.
Having spent over six years in Missouri politics, and losing a tough 2004 election, I had decided to exit stage left and move into a new career, one afforded to me with a Wharton MBA. This chapter was not in the playbook, but it was an opportunity to help a friend, finish some unsettled business and more than anything else, the chance to personally impact the outcome and make a difference. Rarely in life do you get those chances to have an immediate and direct impact on the outcome of major events, and this was opportunity calling once again.
The Democrats needed to win six seats to regain the majority and Missouri was pivotal to that equation. Like many of the other Democratic candidates, we were taking on an incumbent Republican Senator, who held nearly a three to one financial edge and had the Senior Senator on his side, a ranking member on the Appropriations (Pork) Committee. Given these obstacles, we had an uphill battle. However, we did have a few things working for us: an unpopular war in Iraq, a Republican-controlled congress perceived by many to be corrupt and ineffective and, of course, George W. Bush.
Campaign life is unlike any other. From the family slandering media campaign calling our candidate a lying, no-tax paying, married-a-rich-guy-with-an-offshore-business to the Michael J. Fox/Rush Limbaugh "Michael is fake-shaking" episode, we had quite a run.
The whole journey began with a call from then candidate, State Auditor Claire McCaskill, while I was sitting poolside, enjoying another weekend in Vegas. From there, it was akin to first year, post-offer recruiting as calls of encouragement came from the offices of people with names like Schumer, Reid, Gephardt, and even Clinton (not Hillary). As if spending the summer in Las Vegas wasn't surreal enough, my life quickly became very interesting.
Having spent over six years in Missouri politics, and losing a tough 2004 election, I had decided to exit stage left and move into a new career, one afforded to me with a Wharton MBA. This chapter was not in the playbook, but it was an opportunity to help a friend, finish some unsettled business and more than anything else, the chance to personally impact the outcome and make a difference. Rarely in life do you get those chances to have an immediate and direct impact on the outcome of major events, and this was opportunity calling once again.
Be the first to comment on this story