mobanmarketMissouri Attorney General Josh Hawley (R) is creating an exploratory committee for a potential 2018 Senate run.
The move gets Republicans one step closer to having a strong challenger to Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskillClaire Conner McCaskillMissouri county issues travel advisory for Lake of the Ozarks after Memorial Day parties Senate faces protracted floor fight over judges amid pandemic safety concerns Amash on eyeing presidential bid: ‘Millions of Americans’ want someone other than Trump, Biden MORE.
Hawley’s spokesman confirmed the attorney general’s plans in a statement to reporters on Wednesday, adding that he’ll file paperwork this week.
“Josh’s state campaign committee has ceased expenditures and the soliciting or accepting of donations while he considers becoming a federal candidate,” spokesman Scott Paradise also told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
ADVERTISEMENT
Hawley tops the list of GOP hopefuls in red state Missouri. President Trump won the state by 19 points in 2016, and it’s a top Senate target for Republicans in 2018.
Republicans initially were coalescing around Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.), who had been polling well against McCaskill. But as some Republicans began to publicly push Hawley to consider, Wagner surprisingly bowed out.
Republican Rep. Vicky Hartzler’s (R-Mo.) decision to also not run left Hawley as the strongest remaining Republican.
Democrats though have already begun to hit Hawley over his likely bid. They note that when he ran for attorney general last year one of his campaign ads criticized politicians who used elected office as a “ladder” to climb to higher posts.
“Josh Hawley must want to set some kind of record — just a few months after promising Missourians he wouldn’t be a ladder-climbing politician, he decides he’d rather run for the next office than do the job he was elected to do,” McCaskill campaign manager David Kirby said in a statement.
“That’s exactly what Missourians can’t stand about politics — it represents the worst kind of politician, and calls into question what other promises Josh Hawley will break.”
Click Here: Bape Kid 1st Camo Ape Head rompers