Baseball and the Missouri Senate Race

According to Pollster.com, in order to gain control of the Senate, the Democrats must win two of the three “toss-up” states: Missouri, Virginia and Tennessee. The Missouri race, between Republican Senator Jim Talent and Democrat Claire McCaskill, is interesting because the results of the Missouri polls cited in the Election Scorecard are affected by the St. Louis Cardinals’ participation in the World Series. While hype in Missouri surrounding the World Series may decrease poll participation, the polls may also be affected by a televsion commercial aired during the World Series featuring Michael J. Fox promoting stem cell research which has drawn fire from conservatives such as Rush Limbaugh and spawned response commercials.