| − | Democrat [[Claire McCaskill]] is the incumbent and faces [[movement conservative]] [[Todd Akin]], the [[Republican]] nominee who leads her in the polls by an average of 6 percentage points. It will be hard for a Democrat to win in this state which is rapidly trending red. | + | Democrat [[Claire McCaskill]] is the incumbent and faces [[movement conservative]] [[Todd Akin]], the [[Republican]] nominee. Since Akin's comments regarding pregnancy and "legitimate rape," Akin has gone from leading McCaskill by 6 points in prior polls to trailing her by 10 points in a Rasmussen Poll from August 22. |