Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) “confirmed that she used a private plane during a three-day RV tour of her state last month, an admission that promises to become a political headache in the Missouri Democrat’s reelection bid,” Politico reports.
“She disputed the notion that the use of the plane allowed her to ‘pretend’ that she was using an RV rather than the multi-million-dollar plane, reportedly purchased by her husband’s company in 2013.”
A new Missouri Scout poll finds Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) leading challenger Josh Hawley (R) 48% to 44%. That 4-point spread is just outside the poll’s margin for error.
The poll also shows President Trump with continued strong approval in Missouri, 50% to 44%.
“Two candidates for the GOP nomination for Missouri’s U.S. Senate race agreed in writing that one would drop out of the race after a joint poll determined which of the two had the better chance to defeat state Attorney General Josh Hawley in the Aug. 7 primary,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
“One of the candidates, Austin Petersen, said that the other, Tony Monetti, has withdrawn from the agreement. But Monetti told the Post-Dispatch hours later that he still wants to go ahead with it.”
A new Emerson College Poll in Missouri has the closely watched Senate race between Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and likely challenger Josh Hawley (R) in a tie, 45% to 45% with 10% of voters undecided. Governor
Meanwhile, Gov. Eric Greitens (R), currently reeling from multiple scandals involving infidelity, blackmail, and campaign finance violations, has 33% to 46% approval rating, When asked what Greitens should do next, 36% want him to resign, 33% want the governor to remain in office, and 18% want him impeached, which means that 54% of Missouri voters want Greitens out as Governor.
Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley (R) moved “to quell spiraling anxiety among senior Republicans and top party donors that his bid to oust vulnerable Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) is slowly slipping away,” the Washington Examiner reports.
“In a memo issued to campaign contributors, but also directed toward nitpicking Republican officials in Washington, Hawley revealed fresh polling that shows a close but stable race with McCaskill that has been unaffected by the deepening sex scandal engulfing embattled GOP Gov. Eric Greitens.”
The OnMessage survey showed Hawley narrowly edging McCaskill, 47% to 46%.
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) “is up for reelection. And, like clockwork, the Republican Party of Missouri is in complete turmoil again,” Politico reports.
“McCaskill won a second term term in 2012 when GOP Rep. Todd Akin’s campaign imploded in the wake of his comments about “legitimate rape.” Now, Republicans worry GOP Gov. Eric Greitens’ mounting scandals will inundate McCaskill’s likely Republican opponent, state Attorney General Josh Hawley, and bestow another term on one of the most endangered incumbent senators in the country.”
A new Missouri Scout poll finds Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) holding a slight edge over her likely challenger Josh Hawley (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 48% to 44% with another 8% undecided.
Missouri U.S. Senate candidate Josh Hawley (R) appears to be distancing himself from embattled Gov. Eric Greitens (R) as he prepares to kick into full gear his campaign to unseat Sen. Claire McCaskill (D), the Missourian reports.
Hawley consultant Brad Todd told reporters that Greitens “has plenty of things on his plate” and said not to expect him on the campaign trail.
Said Todd: “The election is going to be a whole lot more about what happens on the floor of the Senate than in the basement of the Greitens’ house.”
“Former judge Roy Moore has endorsed a controversial conservative firebrand for the Senate race in Missouri, in his first major political move since losing his own Senate campaign in Alabama last year,” the Washington Post reports.
“Moore, who was defeated after multiple women accused him of making sexual advances toward them when they were teenagers and he was in his 30s, has put his weight behind Courtland Sykes, a Navy veteran who has called feminists ‘she-devils‘ and said he would not want daughters who were ‘career-obsessed banshees.'”
Said Moore: “Courtland is a man of impeccable character, courage, and Christian faith. We need men like Courtland Sykes in the Senate of the United States, a leader who will not only say what is right, but also a leader who will do what is right!”
First Read: “The felony indictment of Republican Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens — for allegedly taking a compromising photo of a woman with whom he was having an affair — could have a ripple effect well beyond the governor’s mansion.”
“For one thing, Missouri is holding one of the most competitive Senate races in the country between incumbent Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and likely GOP opponent Josh Hawley, who just happens to be the state’s top law-enforcement official as state attorney general. Additionally, the Greitens matter isn’t going away anytime soon, because Greitens is fighting the charge, and because the state House is investigating it.”
“The McCaskill-Hawley race, right now, is viewed as a 50-50 contest, with control of the U.S. Senate possibly on the line for whichever party wins it. And this felony indictment will be in the background. Possibly for months.”
Kansas City lawyer Craig O’Dear (I) officially launched an independent bid for U.S. Senate in Missouri, “entering a race that could decide which party controls the chamber next year,” the Kansas City Star reports.
“O’Dear said he thinks he can win if he captures 35% to 40% of the vote in a three-way race.”
“Republicans worried about holding on to their Senate majority are trying to convince three lawmakers to reconsider their decisions and run for the upper chamber,” The Hill reports.
“Reps. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Ann Wagner (R-MO) are being encouraged to launch Senate bids after initially passing on those races, while Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) is hearing calls to put off his retirement and run for reelection.”
“The last-minute maneuvering suggests the GOP primary fields may not be settled just eight months before the November midterm elections and highlights an increasing nervousness among Republicans that their Senate majority — once seen as nearly invincible — may be at risk.”
Missouri U.S. Senate candidate Josh Hawley (R) linked the problem of sex trafficking to the sexual revolution of the 1960s, according to leaked audio obtained by the Kansas City Star.
Said Hawley: “We have a human trafficking crisis in our state and in this city and in our country because people are willing to purchase women, young women, and treat them like commodities. There is a market for it. Why is there? Because our culture has completely lost its way. The sexual revolution has led to exploitation of women on a scale that we would never have imagined, never have imagined.”
Josh Hawley (R), the Republican party’s top pick to challenge Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) — widely regarded as the most vulnerable Senate incumbent in the nation — raised just shy of $1 million in final three months of last year, McClatchy reports.
“Hawley, the Missouri attorney general, is fundraising well ahead of other Republicans in the field. But he’s far short of the $2.9 million McCaskill collected during the fourth quarter of 2017.”
Missouri U.S. Senate candidate Courtland Sykes (R) has ignited a social media firestorm with a Facebook post in which he calls feminists “she devils” and expounds on how he wants his wife to cook his dinner, the Kansas City Star reports.
Sykes wrote that he rejects “radical feminism’s crazed definition of modern womanhood” and that he wants daughters who will be homemakers rather than “career obsessed banshees” or “nailbiting manophobic feminist she devils.”