Russ Carnahan gunning for Lacy Clay?

[Nation]

I never understood why Carnahan was so opposed to running statewide.

Because the guy's an awful campaigner who survives based on name recognition alone. Hell, when Carnahan originally tried to run for the Congressional seat he held for a while, he barely beat out a public school teacher in the primary who was running on fumes the whole time. There's an amazing documentary about that particular primary, actually. You can watch it for free online somewhere.