6 Key 2018 Midterm Senate Races to Watch

By Samuel Smith, Deputy Managing Editor Friday, October 19, 2018

Missouri

One of the more high profile Senate races of 2018 is incumbent Democrat Sen. Claire McCaskill versus Republican Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley.

The race also includes Libertarian, Green Party and Independent candidates that could act like wildcards in this race.

Hawley is a former clerk for Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and previously worked for the religious freedom law firm Becket, where he wrote briefs in cases such as Hobby Lobby and Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Hawley is endorsed by the National Right to Life, while McCaskill is endorsed by Planned Parenthood.

In 2016, Donald Trump won 57.1 percent of the vote in the Show-Me State, while Hillary Clinton picked up 38 percent and Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson won 3.5 percent of the vote.

A Real Clear Politics average of available polling data shows that Hawley has a 46.3 percent to 45.8 percent lead over McCaskill, who has been in office since 2007.