# 2012 United States Senate election in Missouri

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vte :
The 2012 United States Senate election in Missouri was held on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the 2012 presidential election, other elections to the United States Senate in other states, as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
Incumbent senator Claire McCaskill was unopposed in the Democratic primary and U.S. representative Todd Akin won the Republican nomination with a plurality in a close three-way race.
Years prior, many forecasters considered Claire McCaskill to be the most vulnerable Democratic senator seeking re-election in 2012 due to the state's rightward shift. This election received considerable media coverage due to controversial comments made by the eventual Republican nominee, Todd Akin, most notably his claim that women could not get pregnant from rape. McCaskill was comfortably re-elected to a second term, with backlash against Akin from women, particularly suburban white women, being cited as the main reason. As of 2024, this was the last time the Democrats won a U.S. Senate election in Missouri.

## Background

In 2006, Claire McCaskill was elected with 49.6% of the vote, narrowly defeating Republican incumbent Jim Talent.

## Democratic primary

Incumbent senator Claire McCaskill ran unopposed in the Democratic primary election.

### Candidates
#### Nominee

* Claire McCaskill, incumbent U.S. senator

### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Claire McCaskill (incumbent) | 289,481 | 100.00 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 289,481 | 100.00 |

## Republican primary

The Republican primary election for the United States Senate in Missouri, held on August 7, 2012, was one of the three most anticipated of summer 2012. This was due to the projected closeness of the Federal races in Missouri in November 2012, and the potential to change the control of the Senate in January 2013. Democrats believed that Todd Akin would be the weakest among the likely challengers for the Senate seat, and ads attacking him as "too conservative" were largely viewed as a veiled support for his nomination. In McCaskill's memoir, she revealed that she also influenced the Akin campaign by providing polling information, which some election law experts later felt would be a violation of regulations against coordination.

### Candidates
#### Nominee

* Todd Akin, U.S. representative

#### Eliminated in primary

* Jerry Beck
* John Brunner, businessman
* Mark Lodes
* Hector Maldonado
* Mark Memoly, author and businessman
* Robert Poole
* Sarah Steelman, former State Treasurer, former state senator and candidate for governor in 2008

#### Declined

* Jo Ann Emerson, U.S. representative
* Sam Graves, U.S. representative
* Peter Kinder, lieutenant governor (running for reelection)
* Blaine Luetkemeyer, U.S. representative
* Ed Martin, attorney (running for Missouri Attorney General)
* Tom Schweich, state auditor
* Jim Talent, former U.S. Senator
* Ann Wagner, former U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg and former Missouri Republican Party chairwoman (running for Congress)

### Endorsements

* Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas and 2008 presidential candidate
* Congressman Jeb Hensarling, Vice Chair of Committee on Financial Services (R-TX)
* Congressman Jim Jordan, Chair of Republican Study Committee (R-OH)
* Congressman Pete Sessions (R-TX)
* Congressman Steve King (R-IA)
* Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, 2012 presidential candidate (R-MN)
* State Representative Kurt Bahr
* Phyllis Schlafly, President of Eagle Forum
* U.S. senator Tom Coburn (Oklahoma)
* U.S. senator Ron Johnson (Wisconsin)
* FreedomWorks
* United States Chamber of Commerce
* Missouri Soybean Association
* John Deere
* August Busch III, former chairman of Anheuser-Busch
* Missouri Pork Association
* Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin
* U.S. senator Mike Lee (Utah)
* Tea Party Express
* Susan B. Anthony List
* Jane Cunningham, state senator
* Steven Tilley, Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives
* Rep. Jay Barnes (Jefferson City)
* Rep. T.J. Berry (Kearney)
* Rep. Eric Burlison (Springfield)
* Rep. Steve Cookson (Fairdealing)
* Rep. Sandy Crawford (Buffalo)
* Rep. David Day (Dixon)
* Rep. Charlie Denison (Springfield)
* Rep. Tonny Dugger (Hartfield)
* Rep. Kevin Elmer (Nixa)
* Rep. Paul Fitzwater (Potosi)
* Rep. Diane Franklin (Camdenton)
* Rep. Ward Franz (West Plains)
* Rep. Keith Frederick (Rolla)
* Rep. Jeff Grisamore (Lee's Summit)
* Rep. Casey Guernsey (Bethany)
* Rep. Kent Hampton (Malden)
* Rep. Galen Higdon (St. Joseph)
* Rep. Dave Hinson (St. Clair)
* Rep. Denny Hoskins (Warrensburg)
* Rep. Lincoln Hough (Springfield)
* Rep. Caleb Jones (California)
* Rep. Delus Johnson (St. Joseph)
* Rep. Shelley Keeney (Marble Hill)
* Rep. Mike Lair (Chillicothe)
* Rep. Bill Lant (Joplin)
* Rep. Scott Largent (Clinton)
* Rep. Mike Leara (St. Louis)
* Rep. Donna Lichtenegger (Jackson)
* Rep. Tom Loehner (Koeltztown)
* Rep. Thomas Long (Battlefield)
* Rep. Mike McGhee (Odessa)
* Rep. Chris Molendorp (Belton)
* Rep. Myron Neth (Liberty)
* Rep. Don Phillips (Kimberling City)
* Rep. Darrell Pollock (Lebanon)
* Rep. Craig Redmon (Canton)
* Rep. Lyle Rowland (Cedar Creek)
* Rep. Don Ruzicka (Mount Vernon)
* Rep. Jason Smith (Salem)
* Rep. Sheila Solon (Blue Springs)
* Rep. Mike Thomson (Maryville)
* Rep. Steven Tilley (Perryville)
* Rep. Noel Torpey (Independence)
* Rep. Don Wells (Cabool)
* Rep. Ray Weter (Nixa)
* Rep. Billy Pat Wright (Dexter)
* Rep. Anne Zerr (St. Charles)

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Todd Akin | John Brunner | Sarah Steelman | Undecided |
| Public Policy Polling | September 9–12, 2011 | 400 | ±4.9% | 29% | 6% | 40% | 26% |
| Public Policy Polling | January 27–29, 2012 | 574 | ±4.1% | 23% | 18% | 32% | 28% |
| Public Policy Polling | May 24–27, 2012 | 430 | ±4.7% | 23% | 25% | 28% | 20% |
| Mason-Dixon | July 23–25, 2012 | 400 | ±5.0% | 17% | 33% | 27% | 19% |
| Public Policy Polling | August 4–5, 2012 | 590 | ±4.0% | 30% | 35% | 25% | 8% |

### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Todd Akin | 217,404 | 36.05 |
| | Republican | John Brunner | 180,788 | 29.98 |
| | Republican | Sarah Steelman | 176,127 | 29.20 |
| | Republican | Jerry Beck | 9,801 | 1.62 |
| | Republican | Hector Maldonado | 7,410 | 1.23 |
| | Republican | Robert Poole | 6,100 | 1.01 |
| | Republican | Mark Memoly | 3,205 | 0.53 |
| | Republican | Mark Lodes | 2,285 | 0.38 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 603,120 | 100.00 |

## Libertarian primary

Jonathan Dine ran unopposed in the Libertarian primary election.

### Candidates

* Jonathan Dine, personal trainer and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2010

### Results

Libertarian primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Libertarian | Jonathan Dine | 2,470 | 100.00 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 2,470 | 100.00 |

## General election
### Candidates

* Claire McCaskill (Democratic), incumbent U.S. Senator
* Todd Akin (Republican), U.S. Representative
* Jonathan Dine (Libertarian), personal trainer

### Debates

The first debate was held on September 21 in Columbia, Missouri and was sponsored by the Missouri Press Association. Topics discussed by the three candidates included the Affordable Care Act, the future of the U.S. Postal Service, the rapid rise of college tuition, and Representative Akin's controversial comments on rape.
The second and final debate was held October 18 in St. Louis. It was sponsored by the Clayton Chamber of Commerce and hosted by television station KSDK, public radio station KWMU and the St. Louis Business Journal. External links
* Complete video of debate, September 21, 2012 - C-SPAN
* Complete video of debate, October 18, 2012 - C-SPAN

### Rape and pregnancy controversy

While making remarks on rape and abortion on August 19, 2012, Akin made the claim that women victims of what he described as "legitimate rape" rarely experience pregnancy from rape. In an interview aired on St. Louis television station KTVI-TV, Akin was asked his views on whether women who became pregnant due to rape should have the option of abortion. He replied:
   Well you know, people always want to try to make that as one of those things, well how do you, how do you slice this particularly tough sort of ethical question. First of all, from what I understand from doctors, that's really rare. If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let's assume that maybe that didn’t work or something. I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child.
The comments from Akin almost immediately led to an uproar, with the term "legitimate rape" being taken to imply belief in a view that some kinds of rape are "legitimate", or, alternatively, that victims who do become pregnant from rape are likely to be lying about their claims. His claims about the likelihood of pregnancy resulting from rape were widely seen as being based on long-discredited pseudoscience, with experts seeing the claims as lacking medical validity. Akin was not the first to make such claims, but was perhaps one of the most prominent. While some voices such as Iowa congressman Steve King supported Akin, senior figures in both parties condemned his remarks and called for him to resign. Akin apologized after making the comment, saying he "misspoke", and he stated he planned to remain in the Senate race. This response was itself attacked by many commentators who saw the initial comments as representative of his long-held views, rather than an accidental gaffe.
The comment was widely characterized as misogynistic and recklessly inaccurate, with many commentators remarking on the use of the words "legitimate rape". Related news articles cited a 1996 article in an obstetrics and gynecology journal, which found that 5% of women who were raped became pregnant, which equaled about 32,000 pregnancies each year in the US alone. A separate 2003 article in the journal Human Nature estimated that rapes are twice as likely to result in pregnancies as consensual sex. (See also pregnancy from rape.)
The incident was seen as having an impact upon the Republicans' chances of gaining a majority in the U.S. Senate by making news in the week before the 2012 Republican National Convention and by "shift[ing] the national discussion to divisive social issues that could repel swing voters rather than economic issues that could attract them" to the Republican Party. Akin, along with other Republican candidates with controversial positions on rape, lost due to backlash from women voters.

### Other controversies

On October 20, at a fundraiser, Akin compared McCaskill to a dog. After being criticized, Akin's campaign aide wrote on his official Twitter page that if Claire McCaskill "were a dog, she’d be a ‘Bullshitsu.’" The aide later said that he was joking. Akin was caught on tape commenting that "Sen. Claire McCaskill goes to Washington, D.C., to ‘fetch' higher taxes and regulations."

### Fundraising

| Candidate (party) | Receipts | Disbursements | Cash on hand | Debt |
| Claire McCaskill (D) | $10,250,644 | $7,689,961 | $3,465,846 | $0 |
| Todd Akin (R) | $2,229,189 | $2,229,754 | $531,559 | $0 |
| Source: Federal Election Commission |||||

#### Top contributors

| Claire McCaskill | Contribution | Todd Akin | Contribution |
| EMILY's List | $261,390 | Emerson | $41,700 |
| Simmons Cooper LLC | $83,225 | Crawford Group | $32,750 |
| Express Scripts | $81,358 | Edward Jones Investments | $23,000 |
| Bryan Cave LLP | $79,245 | American Pulverizer Co | $20,000 |
| Husch Blackwell | $70,525 | Murray Energy | $18,605 |
| Washington University in St. Louis | $56,510 | Essex Industries | $18,000 |
| Hallmark Cards | $52,000 | General Dynamics | $18,000 |
| Boeing | $50,500 | Washington University in St. Louis | $17,000 |
| Crawford Group | $47,050 | Boeing | $15,700 |
| Polsinelli Shughart PC | $45,250 | Patriot Machine | $15,000 |
| Source: OpenSecrets ||||

#### Top industries

| Claire McCaskill | Contribution | Todd Akin | Contribution |
| Lawyers/Law Firms | $1,929,339 | Retired | $234,936 |
| Retired | $626,456 | Leadership PACs | $126,340 |
| Women's Issues | $556,681 | Health Professionals | $120,050 |
| Entertainment industry | $346,715 | Defense Contractors | $118,900 |
| Financial Institutions | $344,960 | Manufacturing & Distributing | $95,641 |
| Leadership PACs | $335,500 | Mining | $65,880 |
| Lobbyists | $279,883 | Automotive | $65,790 |
| Real Estate | $266,844 | Republican/Conservative | $64,125 |
| Business Services | $232,175 | Electronics manufacturing services | $42,350 |
| Health Services/HMOs | $210,533 | Financial Institutions | $42,250 |
| Source: OpenSecrets ||||

### Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| The Cook Political Report | Likely D | November 1, 2012 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | Lean D | November 5, 2012 |
| Rothenberg Political Report | Likely D | November 2, 2012 |
| Real Clear Politics | Lean D | November 5, 2012 |

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Claire McCaskill (D) | Todd Akin (R) | Other | Undecided |
| Public Policy Polling | March 3–6, 2011 | 612 | ±4.0% | 45% | 44% | — | 11% |
| Public Policy Polling | April 28 – May 1, 2011 | 555 | ±3.9% | 46% | 45% | — | 8% |
| Public Policy Polling | September 9–12, 2011 | 632 | ±3.9% | 45% | 43% | — | 12% |
| Rasmussen Reports | November 9, 2011 | 500 | ±4.5% | 47% | 45% | 5% | 3% |
| Public Policy Polling | January 27–29, 2012 | 582 | ±4.1% | 43% | 43% | — | 14% |
| Rasmussen Reports | March 14–15, 2012 | 500 | ±4.5% | 43% | 50% | 4% | 4% |
| Rasmussen Reports | April 17, 2012 | 500 | ±4.5% | 43% | 48% | 2% | 7% |
| Public Policy Polling | May 24–27, 2012 | 602 | ±4.0% | 44% | 45% | — | 11% |
| Rasmussen Reports | June 7, 2012 | 500 | ±4.5% | 42% | 50% | 2% | 7% |
| Mason-Dixon | July 23–25, 2012 | 625 | ±4.0% | 44% | 49% | — | 7% |
| Rasmussen Reports | July 30, 2012 | 500 | ±4.5% | 44% | 47% | 4% | 5% |
| Chilenski Strategies/Missouri Scout | August 8, 2012 | 663 | ±3.8% | 47% | 48% | — | 6% |
| Survey USA | August 9–12, 2012 | 585 | ±4.1% | 40% | 51% | 4% | 5% |
| Public Policy Polling | August 20, 2012 | 500 | ±4.4% | 43% | 44% | — | 13% |
| Rasmussen Reports | August 22, 2012 | 500 | ±4.5% | 48% | 38% | 9% | 5% |
| Mason-Dixon | August 22–23, 2012 | 625 | ±4.0% | 50% | 41% | — | 9% |
| Wenzel Strategies | August 27–28, 2012 | 829 | ±3.3% | 42% | 45% | — | 13% |
| Public Policy Polling | August 28–29, 2012 | 621 | ±3.9% | 45% | 44% | — | 11% |
| Rasmussen Reports | September 11, 2012 | 500 | ±4.5% | 49% | 43% | 4% | 4% |
| Wenzel Strategies | September 10–11, 2012 | 850 | ±3.3% | 43% | 48% | — | 10% |
| Gravis Marketing | September 15–16, 2012 | 1,959 | ±2.3% | 42% | 44% | — | 16% |
| We Ask America | September 25–27, 2012 | 1,145 | ±2.9% | 46% | 45% | — | 9% |
| Kiley & Company | September 30, 2012 | 600 | ±3.5% | 50% | 41% | 2% | 7% |
| Public Policy Polling | October 1–3, 2012 | 700 | ±3.7% | 46% | 40% | 9% | 5% |
| Rasmussen Reports | October 3, 2012 | 500 | ±4.5% | 51% | 45% | 1% | 3% |
| Wenzel Strategies | October 12–13, 2012 | 1,000 | ±3.7% | 45% | 49% | — | 7% |
| Rasmussen Reports | October 19, 2012 | 500 | ±4.5% | 51% | 43% | 3% | 3% |
| Public Policy Polling | October 19–21, 2012 | 582 | ±4.1% | 46% | 40% | 6% | 8% |
| Mason-Dixon | October 23–25, 2012 | 625 | ±4% | 45% | 43% | — | 8% |
| WeAskAmerica | October 30, 2012 | 1,217 | ±2.9% | 49% | 45% | 6% | — |
| SurveyUSA | October 28 – November 3, 2012 | 589 | ±4.1% | 51% | 36% | 8% | 5% |
| Public Policy Polling | November 2–3, 2012 | 835 | ±3.4% | 48% | 44% | 6% | 2% |
Republican primary
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Todd Akin | John Brunner | Blaine Luetkemeyer | Ed Martin | Sarah Steelman | Other/ Undecided |
| Public Policy Polling | April 28 – May 1, 2011 | 400 | ±4.9% | 23% | 4% | 18% | 6% | 27% | 23% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Todd Akin | John Brunner | Ed Martin | Sarah Steelman | Other/ Undecided |
| Public Policy Polling | April 28 – May 1, 2011 | 400 | ±4.9% | 29% | 6% | 9% | 28% | 28% |
General election
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Claire McCaskill (D) | John Brunner (R) | Other | Undecided |
| Public Policy Polling | April 28 – May 1, 2011 | 555 | ±3.9% | 47% | 41% | — | 12% |
| Public Policy Polling | September 9–12, 2011 | 632 | ±3.9% | 46% | 37% | — | 17% |
| Public Policy Polling | January 27–29, 2012 | 582 | ±4.1% | 43% | 43% | – | 14% |
| Rasmussen Reports | March 14–15, 2012 | 500 | ±4.5% | 42% | 49% | 4% | 6% |
| Rasmussen Reports | April 17, 2012 | 500 | ±4.5% | 45% | 45% | 3% | 7% |
| Public Policy Polling | May 24–27, 2012 | 602 | ±4.0% | 46% | 44% | — | 11% |
| Rasmussen Reports | June 7, 2012 | 500 | ±4.5% | 41% | 51% | 2% | 6% |
| Mason-Dixon | July 23–25, 2012 | 625 | ±4.0% | 41% | 52% | — | 7% |
| Rasmussen Reports | July 30, 2012 | 500 | ±4.5% | 43% | 49% | 5% | 3% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Claire McCaskill (D) | Peter Kinder (R) | Other | Undecided |
| Public Policy Polling | November 29 – December 1, 2010 | 515 | ±4.3% | 44% | 46% | — | 10% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Claire McCaskill (D) | Blaine Luetkemeyer (R) | Other | Undecided |
| Public Policy Polling | April 28 – May 1, 2011 | 555 | ±3.9% | 45% | 42% | — | 13% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Claire McCaskill (D) | Ed Martin (R) | Other | Undecided |
| Public Policy Polling | March 3–6, 2011 | 612 | ±4.0% | 46% | 40% | — | 14% |
| Public Policy Polling | April 28 – May 1, 2011 | 555 | ±3.9% | 46% | 39% | — | 15% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Claire McCaskill (D) | Tom Schweich (R) | Other | Undecided |
| Rasmussen Reports | March 14–15, 2012 | 500 | ±4.5% | 43% | 47% | 4% | 6% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Claire McCaskill (D) | Sarah Steelman (R) | Other | Undecided |
| Public Policy Polling | November 29 – December 1, 2010 | 515 | ±4.3% | 45% | 44% | — | 12% |
| Public Policy Polling | March 3–6, 2011 | 612 | ±4.0% | 45% | 42% | — | 14% |
| Public Policy Polling | April 28 – May 1, 2011 | 555 | ±3.9% | 45% | 42% | — | 14% |
| Public Policy Polling | September 9–12, 2011 | 632 | ±3.9% | 43% | 42% | — | 16% |
| Rasmussen Reports | November 9, 2011 | 500 | ±4.5% | 45% | 47% | 3% | 4% |
| Public Policy Polling | January 27–29, 2012 | 582 | ±4.1% | 43% | 44% | – | 13% |
| Rasmussen Reports | March 14–15, 2012 | 500 | ±4.5% | 41% | 51% | 4% | 4% |
| Rasmussen Reports | April 17, 2012 | 500 | ±4.5% | 42% | 49% | 2% | 6% |
| Public Policy Polling | May 24–27, 2012 | 602 | ±4.0% | 44% | 44% | — | 12% |
| Rasmussen Reports | June 7, 2012 | 500 | ±4.5% | 39% | 51% | 3% | 7% |
| Mason-Dixon | July 23–25, 2012 | 625 | ±4.0% | 41% | 49% | — | 10% |
| Rasmussen Reports | July 30, 2012 | 500 | ±4.5% | 43% | 49% | 4% | 4% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Claire McCaskill (D) | Jim Talent (R) | Other | Undecided |
| Public Policy Polling | November 29 – December 1, 2010 | 515 | ±4.3% | 45% | 47% | — | 8% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Claire McCaskill (D) | Ann Wagner (R) | Other | Undecided |
| Public Policy Polling | March 3–6, 2011 | 612 | ±4.0% | 45% | 36% | — | 19% |

### Results

Even though the last poll before the election showed Akin only losing by four percentage points, McCaskill defeated him handily, by a 15.7% margin of victory and a vote margin of 427,966. Both McCaskill and incumbent governor Jay Nixon, running at the same time, were able to get a large number of votes from rural parts of the state, something President Barack Obama was not able to do. McCaskill and Nixon were declared the winners of their respective races even before results from the known big Democratic strongholds of St. Louis and Kansas City came in. Akin conceded defeat to McCaskill at 10:38 P.M. Central Time.
Time featured the race in an article on the Senate. The article mentioned that McCaskill had been fading in pre-election polls, and that she was considered the most vulnerable/endangered Democratic incumbent in 2012. However, Akin's controversial comments helped McCaskill rise in the polls and propelled her to a victory in the election. In August 2015, McCaskill penned a Politico article in which she stated that in 2012, she had "successfully manipulated the Republican primary so that in the general election [she] would face the candidate [she] was most likely to beat."
United States Senate election in Missouri, 2012 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Claire McCaskill (incumbent) | 1,494,125 | 54.81% | +5.36% |
| | Republican | Todd Akin | 1,066,159 | 39.11% | −8.20% |
| | Libertarian | Jonathan Dine | 165,468 | 6.07% | +3.83% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 41 | 0.01% | +0.01% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 2,725,793 | 100.00% | N/A |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

#### Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

* Andrew (Largest city: Savannah)
* Audrain (Largest city: Mexico)
* Worth (Largest city: Grant City)
* Chariton (Largest city: Salisbury)
* Livingston (Largest city: Chillicothe)
* Bates (Largest city: Butler)
* Gentry (Largest city: Albany)
* Nodaway (Largest city: Maryville)
* Lafayette (Largest city: Odessa)
* Pettis (Largest city: Sedalia)
* Sullivan (Largest city: Milan)
* Clark (Largest city: Kahoka)
* Cass (Largest city: Harrisonville)
* Daviess (Largest city: Gallatin)
* Knox (Largest city: Edina)
* Lewis (Largest city: Canton)
* Grundy (Largest city: Trenton)
* Johnson (largest city: Warrensburg)
* Howard (Largest city: Fayette)
* Schuyler (Largest city: Lancaster)
* Scotland (Largest city: Memphis)
* Dunklin (Largest city: Kennett)
* Madison (Largest city: Fredericktown)
* Pulaski (Largest city: Fort Leonard Wood)
* Greene (Largest city: Springfield)
* Franklin (Largest city: Washington)
* Wayne (Largest city: Piedmont)

#### Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

* Carroll (Largest city: Carrollton)
* Oregon (Largest city: Thayer)

#### By congressional district

McCaskill won 6 of 8 congressional districts, four of which were won by Republicans, including Akin's own district.
| District | McCaskill | Akin | Representative |
| 1st | 86.93% | 13.22% | Lacy Clay |
| 2nd | 51.97% | 42.77% | Todd Akin (112th Congress) |
| 2nd | 51.97% | 42.77% | Ann Wagner (113th Congress) |
| 3rd | 47.02% | 46.49% | Russ Carnahan (112th Congress) |
| 3rd | 47.02% | 46.49% | Blaine Luetkemeyer (113th Congress) |
| 4th | 48.65% | 43.28% | Vicky Hartzler |
| 5th | 66.48% | 27.61% | Emanuel Cleaver |
| 6th | 50.72% | 41.98% | Sam Graves |
| 7th | 41.77% | 51.1% | Billy Long |
| 8th | 46.3% | 47.76% | Jo Ann Emerson |