Pair of DC fundraisers aims to boost McCaskill challenger

Two fundraisers are slated to be held in Washington, D.C., on Thursday in support of Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley’s (R) Senate campaign, according to an invitation obtained by The Hill.

One fundraiser will be a breakfast Thursday morning with special guest Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). The event will be hosted by former Gov. Haley Barbour (R-Miss.) and several others who work at BGR Group, a lobbying and public relations firm.

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There will also be an afternoon reception on Thursday, where Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), the Senate GOP conference vice chairman, is listed as a special guest.

The Hill reached out to Hawley’s campaign to see if the attorney general will be attending either fundraiser on Thursday.

The planned D.C. fundraisers for Hawley, who will likely face Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) in November, comes after President Trump and Vice President Pence have helped the attorney general raise money in one of the most competitive Senate races this cycle.

Pence visited St. Louis last week to fundraise for Hawley. And Trump is expected to attend a fundraiser for Hawley on Tuesday in Kansas City. At a veterans event earlier on Tuesday, Trump called Hawley onto the stage and praised his time in office.

McCaskill has consistently outpaced Hawley in fundraising this cycle. She brought in $4.3 million in her most recent fundraising quarter. She has about $12.2 million in the bank. Meanwhile, Hawley raised more than $1.8 million in that same quarter. He has a little over $3 million cash on hand.

Hawley has frequently railed against McCaskill for raising large sums of money from out of state, specifically in D.C. and California.

“Senator McCaskill represents D.C., Hollywood and the Wall Street elite who fund her campaign — not Missouri,” Hawley told the Associated Press in a statement in April. “We deserve a Senator who will protect our way of life and fight to ensure our families, farmers, and workers can finally get ahead.”

Back in May, McCaskill attended a fundraiser in Beverly Hills with former President Obama, which was hosted by filmmaker Steven Spielberg. And in June, Hawley attended a fundraiser in San Francisco, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Hawley is expected to cruise to the GOP nomination in Missouri’s Aug. 7 primary. The marquee Senate race is in a state that Trump won by more than 18 points in 2016. The RealClearPolitics polling average has McCaskill narrowly leading by 1 point.