Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill continues to far outstrip Republican challenger Josh Hawley in fundraising for the November 6th election.
Hawley received contributions totaling $1.5 million in the 17 days from October 1st through the 17th while he’s raised close to $8.9 million for the entire election cycle. McCaskill took in $4.6 million over the same 17-day period and $32.2 million for the cycle. Her edge over Hawley converts to a three-to-one margin in the near term which is closer than the nearly four-to-one edge she had during the previous two-and-a-half month reporting period.
McCaskill also outspent Hawley in the latest 17-day stretch – $6.16 million to $2.4 million. The spending gap over the entire election cycle has been nearly four-to-one in favor of McCaskill – $34.2 million versus $7.4 million. Like the results over the previous reporting period, Hawley has more cash on hand. He has more than a million-dollar edge heading into the final 11 days before the election – $2.85 million to $1.8 million.
The Missouri Senate race continues to be a magnet for outside spending, being among the most watched contests in the country.
A rush of spending in Florida has pushed the Sunshine State ahead of the Show-Me State in outside expenditures – $66.5 to $59.5 million for the election cycle. Both states are far ahead of the next three contests, the Senate races in Nevada, Indiana, and Arizona, which all hover between $44 million and $45 million in total outside spending.
More outside money is being spent against McCaskill, $28.6 million, than for or against any other candidates in the 2018 midterms. The Libertarian-leaning Koch Network placed a high profile $2 million ad buy into the contest Monday. All recent polling shows a statistical tie between Hawley and McCaskill in the Missouri race.
The tightest of any of the eight U.S. House races in Missouri is in the 2nd district which includes portions of St. Louis, Jefferson and St. Charles counties on the eastern side of the state. A national political handicapper moved that contest from “likely” Republican to “lean” Republican last month.
Three-term GOP incumbent Ann Wagner Congresswoman Ann Wagner was smoked by Democratic challenger Cort VanOstran in the most recent 17-day fundraising period, $300,000 to $50,000. But having an edge over the entire election cycle of almost $3 million to $1.9 million, Wagner outspent VanOstran in the early to mid-October stretch, $761,000 to $440,000.
Heading into the final 11 days before the election, Wagner has a war chest of $1.9 million cash on hand compared to just VanOstran $240,000. Democrats have been upbeat about their chances in the 2nd District after voter turnout in the August primary seemed to reveal more enthusiasm for the party. Almost 30,000 more Democrats cast ballots in the primary than Republicans.
The seven other Congressional districts are not considered competitive. The two encompassing the large urban areas of St. Louis and Kansas City are heavily Democratic while the remaining five in largely rural Missouri are dominated by Republicans.