MO-AG: Schmitt moves from 'Solid' to 'Likely' Republican

Schmitt is running for his office for the first time in 2020; he was appointed to his post after Republican Josh Hawley won a U.S. Senate seat in 2018. Previously, Schmitt served as state treasurer and as a state senator. Republicans have been dominant in Missouri's statewide races in the past few election cycles, and Schmitt has a large fundraising edge. But the presidential race has narrowed in the state, with Trump outpolling Biden by just mid-single-digit margins after he won by an 18-point margin in 2016. Meanwhile, the summer's racial unrest, including the gun-toting faceoff between a white St. Louis couple, Mark and Patricia McCloskey, and Black Lives Matter marchers, may energize voters in urban and suburban areas. Richard Finneran, a former assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri who's now in private practice, won the Democrats' AG primary by a double-digit margin and is viewed as well-qualified by insiders. However, he has poor name recognition and begins well behind in fundraising. (Libertarian candidate Kevin Babcock is not expected to become a major factor.) Whatever Democratic tide develops in Missouri seems unlikely to be strong enough to push all of the party's downballot candidates to victory. Still, in an abundance of caution, we're shifting this race from Safe Republican to Likely Republican.




https://cookpolitical.com/analysis/governors/attorney-general/september-update-handicapping-2020-attorney-general-elections