New CBS News Battleground Tracker polling find Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) is up two points with likely voters over Matt Rosendale (R), 47% to 45% in Montana, while in Missouri, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Josh Hawley (R) are even in support among likely voters at 45% to 45%.
Most supporters of all these candidates describe themselves as enthusiastic about voting this year.
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) is out with a very effective ad recounting her experience in beating breast cancer while blasting rival Josh Hawley (R) for joining a lawsuit that could undo Obamacare’s protections for those with pre-existing conditions.
First Read highlights other Democrats seizing on health care and pre-existing conditions in their ads:
President Trump’s campaign “canceled a second rally ahead of Hurricane Florence’s landfall, citing safety concerns as the storm threatens to wreak havoc on the East Coast,” Politico reports.
“The rally was scheduled for Thursday in Missouri to promote U.S. Senate candidate Josh Hawley, who is running against Sen. Claire McCaskill in the upcoming midterm election. The Trump campaign also canceled a rally in Mississippi on Monday in anticipation of the storm.”
A new NBC News-Marist poll finds Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) locked in a dead heat with challenger Josh Hawley (R), 47% to 47%.
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“The Russian intelligence agency behind the 2016 election cyberattacks targeted Sen. Claire McCaskill as she began her 2018 re-election campaign in earnest,” a Daily Beast analysis reveals.
“That makes the Missouri Democrat the first identified target of the Kremlin’s 2018 election interference.”
Asked about the hack attempt, McCaskill said: “I’m not going to speak of it right now. I think we’ll have something on it next week. I’m not going to speak about it right now. I can’t confirm or do anything about it right now.”
A new Remington Research poll in Missouri finds Josh Hawley (R) just ahead of Claire McCaskill (D) in their U.S. Senate race, 48% to 46%.
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!”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Wonk Wire, Political Job Hunt and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
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