Former Senator Claire McCaskill told MS NOW Deadline on Monday that Democrats could win in Texas, Kansas, and Mississippi in November thanks in part to candidate quality, with Talarico as an example.

In Kansas she cited two faith-centered candidates, including a minister of the country’s largest Methodist church who promotes kindness, looking after neighbors, and not committing crimes in a manner that addresses people directly. The state already has a Democratic governor.

She also noted a Mississippi prosecutor and rising Black participation she attributed to Republican actions regarding the Voting Rights Act, expecting possible surprises at the polls, unlike 2006 when corruption and the Iraq war mattered more than today’s inflation and cost increases.