To the surprise of no one, Hawley formally throws his hat in the ring for U.S. Senate

Source: STL Post Dispatch

“He’s caught in the crossfire between Trump supporters and the Republican establishment,” said Dave Robertson, political scientist at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. In a state that Trump won by almost 20 points last year, Robertson said, the danger for Hawley is that “he’s going to be seen being supported by the establishment” because of ties to Danforth and others.

That may explain why Hawley reportedly talked last month with Steve Bannon, the former Trump adviser associated with the populist-nationalist movement among the most conservative parts of Trump’s base. The conversation apparently paid off. Breitbart.com, Bannon’s conservative news website, gave Hawley some fawning coverage over the weekend, with a piece headlined: “The League of Extraordinary Candidates.”

Hawley also will have to contend with the fact that his announcement seeking his second elective office comes not even a year into his first. He won the attorney general’s race last year in part with a lauded campaign commercial (the one with all the ladders), in which he shamed “career politicians just climbing the ladder, using one office to get another.”

With Hawley climbing that ladder himself now, the ad may prove even more effective for the Democrats than it was for him — once they start playing and re-playing it, as they almost certainly will.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/to-the-surprise-of-no-one-hawley-formally-throws-his/article_e3732d40-5c27-5920-b7e3-ddbe0d641ffc.html#tncms-source=home-top-story-1