As Missourians were casting ballots Tuesday, Harrisonville Republican Vicky Hartzler told a reporter she was "cautiously optimistic" about her challenge to Ike Skelton, the 34-year incumbent Democrat from Lexington.
By early Wednesday morning, she had blocked Skelton's re-election bid with an 11,993-vote, 5.3 percent victory margin - 113,500-101,507.
"I really wasn't (surprised) because I have just been out with the people of the 4th District now for over a year," she said during a Wednesday afternoon interview, repeating a key phrase of her primary and general election campaign.
Hartzler was confident she won because of Missouri issues, not because she's a Republican in a year when many Republicans captured victories.