Deirdre Shesgreen

USATODAY

WASHINGTON – Neither of Missouri's senators, Democrat Claire McCaskill and Republican Roy Blunt, will be on the ballot in 2014. But each is playing a quiet, competing role in the bitter fight for control of the Senate.

McCaskill hosted a fundraiser in St. Louis for the Senate Democrats' campaign committee last fall, bringing in about $120,000 for the party. She's been sending out money pleas to donors on behalf of Democratic candidates facing tough election fights.

And the Missouri Democrat has also dipped into her leadership political action committee — a special fundraising account lawmakers use to give money to their congressional colleagues — to donate $35,000 to a handful of vulnerable incumbents from Alaska to New Hampshire, according to a tally by the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks money in elections.

Blunt has given out even more of his leadership funds, handing out $150,000 so far this election cycle to 20 Republican Senate contenders in a slew of key races that will determine GOP control, the center's data shows. He's also spent time schmoozing with attendees at Senate GOP fundraisers.

And the Missouri Republican has played a small role in helping the Republican Party try to avoid the mistakes of the 2010 and 2012 elections, where GOP primaries produced far-right candidates who went on to lose general election fights. Missouri's 2012 Senate race was a prime example of that, with ex-Rep. Todd Akin emerging from a three-way GOP primary and then losing to McCaskill, who had been a top Republican target.

This year, Republicans need only to gain a net of six seats in the 100-member body to win control of the Senate. There are 36 seats in play this election, with Democrats defending 21 and Republicans defending 15. Political experts say the GOP is very likely to increase its ranks in the Senate — estimating that the party could gain between four and eight seats.

Blunt declined to detail his efforts in the GOP's push for a Senate majority, saying only that he's had "some involvement" in helping the party boost Republican candidates who can appeal to general election voters.

"I'm seeing (GOP candidates) as they come in, talking to them about issues that matter and that they need to deal with," Blunt said. And "I'm doing some fundraising for the (National Republican Senatorial) Committee."

Steven Smith, a political science professor at Washington University in St. Louis, said Blunt and McCaskill's fundraising efforts are almost mandatory in today's political climate, where campaign costs are sky-high and lawmakers are expected to pony up for their vulnerable colleagues.

"If you're not raising money for yourself, you're supposed to be raising it for someone else," Smith said. Lawmakers who don't do so risk being seen as "laggards," he said.

Besides their role as good party soldiers, McCaskill and Blunt both have a lot at stake in the outcome of the 2014 campaign.

Right now, Blunt is vice chairman of the Senate GOP conference, the No. 5 leadership slot. If the GOP wins a majority, the Missouri lawmaker would be poised to move up the leadership ladder and exercise more influence over the GOP's agenda and message. Blunt could also be in line for a subcommittee chairmanship under Republican control.

"I have no doubt that he is ambitious and sees himself at some point" being the Senate's top GOP leader, Smith said. If Republicans have control of the Senate, he added, Blunt will have more opportunities to show that he has "what it takes" to be in the top slot.

If Democrats keep their majority, McCaskill would be able to hold on to her two subcommittee chairmanships — one charged with overseeing federal fiscal management and government contracting and the other with purview over consumer protection issues. She has used these posts to launch high-profile probes of everything from General Motors' belated recall of 2.6 million cars with defective ignition switches to the Pentagon's problem-plagued POW/MIA-recovery program.

A Republican sweep in November would cost her those gavels.

"If you're in the minority, you're not in a position to call hearings, you're not in a position to determine what the next investigation will be," Smith noted. "She can still introduce legislation, she's free to make speeches on the floor," but she's not going to be able to set committee priorities.

McCaskill downplayed the impact of a Republican majority on her own clout.

"Strengthening accountability in government has been the meat and potatoes of my work in the Senate," she said. "Regardless of who's in the majority, I'm going to stay focused like a laser on how government is spending taxpayer money."

But she also predicted that Democrats will do well come election time.

"The moderate Democrats that are in tough states this year have demonstrated their independence time and again, and their voters will appreciate that," McCaskill said.