Jim Talent (R)	49%
Jean Carnahan (D)	48%

View Jim Talent's Dirty Dozen profile

The Race
The Missouri Senate race pitting incumbent Jean Carnahan against former Representative Jim Talent, was one of the most highly anticipated and competitive races in the nation. In 2000, Carnahan was appointed to a two-year term to fill her husband's seat after he died in a plane crash two weeks before the election. During her term, Carnahan became a moderate voice for the people of Missouri.

LCV named Talent to the Dirty Dozen because his dismal record in Congress of protecting the right of Missouri's families to a clean and healthy environment. While serving in the House of Representatives from 1993 to 2000, Talent voted against commonsense environmental measures over 80 percent of the time. His lifetime LCV score is a paltry 18 percent.

The Environment
LCV's polling found that the environment ranked below issues such as the economy, social security, and education. However, younger voters, especially young women responded to environmental messages. Throughout the campaign LCV highlighted Talent's votes against making polluters pay to clean up toxic waste, against a community's right to know about toxic emssions, and against safer arsenic standards for drinking water. 

Late in the race the environment became a key issue. Both candidates engaged in a debate on drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other energy issues. The St. Louis Post Dispatch ran a story with the headline, environment, Schools Emerge as Big Issues as Race Nears its End?overing the increased attention to the environment in the debates and candidate forums.

LCV Activities
On October 3, 2002, LCV named Jim Talent to the Dirty Dozen, meeting with members of the press to discuss the role of the environment in this competitive race. This effort produced a story that ran nationwide with the headline, "Environmental Group to Support Carnahan" The Kansas City Star 10/03/02). Throughout the campaign LCV conducted an extensive earned media outreach campaign that focused on Talent's dismal record on the environment. The campaign garnered coverage both nationally and locally, with headlines like, "Carnahan, Talent split on environment" (Associated Press 09/30/02) and "heat on environment" Columbia Tribune 10/03/02).