Missouri primary sets up McCaskill-Hawley Senate clash

[riversedge]

Source: ap


JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Sen. Claire McCaskill coasted to the Democratic nomination Tuesday in Republican-dominated Missouri, but GOP challenger Josh Hawley could prove to be one of her toughest opponents in a lengthy political career that also included stints as a state legislator and auditor.

McCaskill’s hopes of winning a third term could depend both on convincing voters she’s sufficiently moderate and that Hawley is too closely tied to President Donald Trump, who is supporting him. That’s not an easy task considering Trump coasted to a 19-percentage point victory in the onetime bellwether state less than two years ago. Republicans consider McCaskill one of their top targets nationwide this fall.

After McCaskill won the primary, she promptly challenged Hawley to four town-hall style debates.

“It’s on,” McCaskill tweeted Tuesday in a plea for donations.

..........

Read more: https://apnews.com/81c9f0605ba149c1815b9d632cc85b70?utm_medium=AP_Politics&utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=Twitter

---

Link to tweet

[TomCADem]

1. I Have Been Impressed With McCaskills Ability to Hold The Seat In Red Missouri

She is a target of Trump's Russian Troll allies who have targeted the left to try to diminish support on the Democratic side. I expect those efforts to double in the months to come.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/russian-hackers-new-target-a-vulnerable-democratic-senator

Russian Hackers’ New Target: a Vulnerable Democratic Senator

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 forensic analysis reveals. That makes the Missouri Democrat the first identified target of the Kremlin’s 2018 election interference.

McCaskill, who has been highly critical of Russia over the years, is widely considered to be among the most vulnerable Senate Democrats facing re-election this year as Republicans hope to hold their slim majority in the Senate. In 2016, President Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton by almost 20 points in the senator’s home state of Missouri.

There’s no evidence to suggest that this attempt to lure McCaskill staffers was successful. The precise purpose of the approach was also unclear. Asked about the hack attempt by Russia’s GRU intelligence agency, McCaskill told The Daily Beast on Thursday that she wasn’t yet prepared to discuss it.

“I’m not going to speak of it right now,” she said. “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.”