“When the statewide narrative around your candidacy is that you’ve wasted months blowing off Republican leaders and squandering your shot, it might be time to pack it in,” said American Bridge spokesperson Amelia Penniman. “Josh Hawley’s lackadaisical, arrogant campaign is embarrassing Missouri Republicans. Hawley can recruit all the Mike Pences in the world to host fundraisers for him — but his reputation as an entitled candidate who spends his workdays at the gym will be a tough one to shake.”
Politico: GOP golden boy mails it in
By Alex Isenstadt | May 15, 2018
- “As the campaign season kicks into high gear, many Republicans worry” that Josh Hawley “is squandering his shot.”
- Conservative St. Louis radio show host Mark Reardon said, “‘I am personally baffled and disappointed that the guy I’ve had on my show numerous times over the last four years and have been supportive of has been MIA…I’m pissed. I’m frustrated.’”
- “In interviews with more than two dozen senior Republican strategists, donors, lawmakers and local officials, Hawley was depicted as a lackadaisical candidate who has posted sluggish fundraising numbers.”
- Christian County GOP secretary Ken Hurley said “‘A lot of Republicans were Josh Hawley supporters months ago. I have heard from many people and they are not supporting him. They feel he is blowing them off and that he’s not interested in southwest Missouri.'”
- Jackson County Republican chairman Mark Anthony Jones said, “‘It’s as if he doesn’t feel like he needs to go out and campaign and that he’s the heir apparent…I’m for anybody but Hawley. I don’t like the arrogance.’”
- And Hawley himself said, “‘It’s an open secret in this state and it’s no secret at all, this is not a race I had intended to run.'”
Read the full story here.
Published: May 15, 2018