Senate seat in Missouri gets national attention
Missouri is once again becoming the focus of American politics with national figures descending upon the state.
Former Vice President Joe Biden made an appearance in Bridgeton, Missouri, Wednesday night in support of Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill.
President Donald Trump is set to hold a rally in Columbia, on Thursday night, supporting Republican Attorney General Josh Hawley’s Senate campaign.
Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to appear for Hawley in Kansas City, on Friday night.
These high-profile campaign stumps are a good indicator of just how vital Missouri has become in shaping Congress.
According to Real Clear Politics, neither candidate has had a lead of more than four points in a single poll in 2018. It’s a race that is within the margin of error making Missouri a toss-up state.
“I think the president coming here indicates, one, our race is so tight,” said Andrea Benjamin, an associate professor of political science at the University of Missouri. “And so is his hope that by coming here and supporting Hawley that it will mobilize Republican voters so they’ll feel important and they’ll feel heard and seen and they’ll know that, ‘Hey, if we show up next Tuesday our candidate can go and we know he’s going to support the president’s agenda.'”
Benjamin pointed out that the race is so close that it is coming down to a numbers game and “who’s going to show up on Tuesday?”
