GOP Senate candidate slams McCaskill over negative approval rating

Josh Hawley, the leading Republican Senate candidate in Missouri, released a new digital ad on Friday that targets Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill over her negative job approval rating.

The state attorney general’s campaign launched a digital ad, which was shared first with The Hill, that centers on new polling conducted by Morning Consult.

The poll found that McCaskill has the lowest job approval numbers of any Senate Democrat up for reelection in a state the President Trump won in 2016.

The survey shows that 38 percent approve of McCaskill, while 45 percent disapprove. The poll also found that 29 percent believe she deserves to be reelected in November, compared to more than half of voters who want a new senator.

The Hawley campaign said the ad will run for several weeks in Missouri, but did not disclose the size of the ad buy.

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“Missouri is rejecting Claire McCaskill. According to a Morning Consult poll released yesterday, McCaskill is the most unpopular senator on the ballot this November,” Hawley said on a Thursday call with reporters about the poll’s findings.

“That’s because Washington politicians like Claire McCaskill have failed us. She chose partisanship over what’s right for Missouri.”

McCaskill, who’s served in the Senate since 2007, is one of 10 Senate Democrats up for reelection in a state that Trump carried. The president won Missouri by 19 points.

Recent polling in Missouri shows a tight Senate race between Hawley and McCaskill. An internal poll from Hawley’s campaign shows him up by 1 point, while an independent poll from Emerson College has the race tied.

Hawley’s campaign circulated a memo touting its poll numbers as McCaskill continues to vastly outpace the Missouri Republican in campaign cash. Hawley raised $1.5 million in the first three months of the year, while McCaskill brought in $3.9 million during that same period of time.