Sen. Claire McCaskell's Mother Dies

Candidate had canceled political events to be with her

The mother of Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill has died.

McCaskill's campaign said that 84-year-old Betty Anne Ward McCaskill died Monday at her home in St. Louis. The Democratic senator had said Saturday that her mother suffered from "acute cardio-renal failure" and had lost consciousness at several points in recent days.

Starting last Tuesday, McCaskill canceled most events in her re-election campaign against Republican Todd Akin in order to spend time with her mother.