Missouri could be the key indicator of how important the Supreme Court nominee is the midterm elections.
U.S. Senate candidate Josh Hawley and fellow Republicans have aggressively used the confirmation of Washington D.C. Circuit Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh as a campaign wedge issue against incumbent Democrat Claire McCaskill. President Trump gave high praise to his high court choice in front of a raucous crowd of 11,000 at a campaign rally Friday night at the JQH Arena in Springfield. Hawley complimented Trump for delivering on a promise to nominate “pro-Constitution judges, judges like Brett Kavanaugh.”
Hawley’s tight bonding with the Supreme Court nominee is now bringing unwanted baggage as Kavanaugh becomes more deeply embattled with sexual misconduct charges as the days pass. The New Yorker magazine reported yesterday that a second woman is accusing Kavanaugh of sexual misbehavior. That charge comes as the Senate Judiciary Committee had just finalized a scheduled Thursday session to hear from Dr. Christine Blasey Ford who has accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her 36 years ago when the two were in high school.
Hawley and McCaskill are locked in razor tight race and some analysts believe the race could determine which party controls the Senate in January.
