WASHINGTON – Democrat Sen. Claire McCaskill lost her reelection to Republican Josh Hawley thanks to a full-court press by President Trump in the final days of the campaign.
“Obviously, we fell short and that’s disappointing,” the longtime Democratic politician conceded.
Trump went on an 11-rally blitz before the midterms and made two of those raucous rally stops in Missouri for Hawley. The president dubbed the young Republican a “star” and predicted his victory.
“Thank you Mr. President for your leadership,” Hawley said at his victory speech, noting he just got off the phone with Trump. “Thank you for believing in Missouri. Tonight the people of Missouri have delivered.”
Hawley, 38, never held public office until he was elected to Attorney General in 2016. He banked on the support of Trump and Missourians voting for the president by nearly 19 points over Hillary Clinton 2016.
Hawley will be youngest senator in Washington, surpassing Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, 41.
With 96 percent of the vote counted, Hawley led 51.8 percent to McCaskill’s 45.1 percent.
McCaskill, 65, got her start in politics at the age of 28 when she was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives and went on to win a series of tough races against the odds in the red state. Tuesday’s defeat marks only her second loss.
“My record ends at 22 and 2 – not a bad record,” McCaskill said.
“I know my mouth gets me in trouble a lot. … Believe it or not, I’ve really had to be kind of careful. Not anymore,” she said to cheers. “I’m not going away.”
Hawley’s campaign got off to a slow start. Republicans complained of Hawley’s sluggish fundraising numbers, light campaign schedule and posting Instagram videos of himself weightlifting in the gym.
This fall, Hawley launched a “Stop Schumer. Fire Claire” campaign tour to tie McCaskill to a “liberal” agenda and highlight the national implications of the tight race.
He said McCaskill is “just like Hillary” and called on Missourians to reject McCaskill just like they did Clinton.
“What the people of Missouri said tonight is that they want a senator who actually stands with the people of Missouri, who represents our values and represents our voice and will fight for us in Washington, DC.,” Hawley said to his supporters. “And I will.”
McCaskill campaigned as an independent who will work with Trump. She backed Trump “100 percent” to prevent a migrant caravan from entering the US and shunned the left-wing of her party in a radio ad declaring she’s not “one of those crazy Democrats.”
While she voted against Trump’s two Supreme Court nominees and the GOP tax plan, McCaskill highlighted bills she sponsored that Trump signed into law, including legislation on prescription drug pricing and cracking down on illegal fentanyl shipments into the US.
The president blasted McCaskill during his rallies as a political opportunist who is only saying “nice” pro-Trump things to win the election, but will never be a reliable vote.
The showdown in the Show Me state was among the most competitive Senate seats nationally and the second most expensive behind Florida when counting outside money. McCaskill netted celebrity donors such as Meryl Streep, Jack Black, Edward Norton and Danny DeVito. She spent nearly $34 million, compared to Hawley’s $7.4 million, while outside groups pumped in nearly $77 million more, according to OpenSecrets.org.