Washington Post blog: Sarah Palin's winning streak ends in Missouri

A Washington Post blog notes that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's winning streak came to an end with the loss of Sarah Steelman Tuesday in Missouri:

Not that Palin didn’t give the Missouri race her best effort. She cut several radio ads for Steelman, made a personal visit to the state and effusively praised Steelman for her mavericky refusal to go-along to get-along, a message designed to appeal to the tea party supporters Steelman needed.
But it was not enough.
Steelman received 29.2 percent of the vote, compared to 30 percent for businessman John Brunner. Both trailed Rep. Todd Akin, who captured the nomination with 36 percent of the vote.
Steelman had been behind in polls leading into Election Day. Had she pulled out a surprise victory, Palin’s support would have certainly been credited as the decisive factor in the race.
The loss could suggest Palin’s other successes this year came as she joined campaigns that were already surging rather than from her influence over the conservative electorate. Palin-backed winners Ted Cruz in Texas and Richard Mourdock in Indiana, for instance, hardly lacked for high power conservative support.
On the other hand, Steelman did outperform her late polls and only narrowly trailed Brunner, who had spent nearly $8 million of his own money selling himself to Missourians. There’s no telling how Steelman would have fared without Palin’s intervention.