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The Attorney General’s Race: A Week in Review

Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday –  that’s all that’s left before the 2016 election is over. With those four days to convince voters, both Republican University of Missouri law professor Josh Hawley and Democrat former Cass County Prosecutor Teresa Hensley have been on the trail trying to shore up voters.

The Missouri Times’ most recent poll on the race shows Hawley with a 6-point advantage, but both candidates have had a busy final week to push their names into Missourians’ hearts and minds.

Hensley accuses Hawley of violating Missouri attorney code

Hawley released an ad recently that accused Hensley of taking money from law groups during her time as Cass County prosecutor in exchange for better plea bargain deals for their clients. Hensley cried foul shortly after the ad was released, and said that Hawley had a professional obligation to not lie.

“As an attorney, Josh should know better. He has an obligation as an attorney to follow the rules of professional conduct,” she said in a statement. “His statements are false and misleading and, as such, are not permitted by the rules of professional conduct as they undermine public confidence in the administration of justice.”This is another example of Josh’s lack of experience as an attorney and his failure to understand the basic codes of conduct when practicing law. Never having practiced law in Missouri, his actions demonstrate his inability to hold the highest office as

“This is another example of Josh’s lack of experience as an attorney and his failure to understand the basic codes of conduct when practicing law. Never having practiced law in Missouri, his actions demonstrate his inability to hold the highest office as attorney for the state of Missouri.”

Hawley highlights familiar themes in new ad

Hawley continued to hammer Hensley as a career politician while also expounding upon his work on the Hobby Lobby case that went before the Supreme Court. Hawley has never held political office.

Hawley receives the endorsement of the Kansas City Star

While this technically occurred a bit more than a week ago, Hawley managed to snipe a big newspaper endorsement away from Hensley when he got the endorsement of the Kansas City Star on Oct. 28. Hensley comes from the Kansas City Area (Cass County is just south of Kansas City), but her prosecutorial work in the area during her tenure did not manage to convince the Star.

The editorial board praised Hawley’s pledge to root out corruption in both political parties.

“Hawley, who calls himself an independent outsider, is intensely conservative,” it wrote. “He calls for ethics reforms and public corruption cleanup that he says would start with his office. He would create a public corruption unit to hold public officials accountable for misuse of their office. He pledges to refuse lobbyist gifts for himself and his office, and says he would challenge the General Assembly to ban all gifts from lobbyists.”

Hensley previously received the endorsement from the state’s other major paper, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Hensley touts support from Missouri mayors

Three Missouri Democratic mayors; Sly James of Kansas City, Francis Slay of St. Louis, and Brian Treece of Columbia; all voiced their support for Hensley Thursday. James and Treece credited her acumen in the courtroom as the reason for their endorsement.

“I’m a lawyer. I recognize Teresa Hensley as another good lawyer,” James said. “Hensley is going to put the law above her personal politics. That’s the kind of Attorney General Kansas City needs.”

“As an experienced prosecutor, Teresa Hensley has a strong record of working with law enforcement to convict dangerous criminals,” said Columbia Mayor Brian Treece. “And she has been a fierce advocate for victims.”

Slay said he believes she would help St. Louis.

“I have always sided with the candidates I believe will best represent the diverse interests of St. Louis, fairly and equally,” he said. “Teresa Hensley has the experience and temperament to be a great attorney general.”

Hensley campaigns with Planned Parenthood president while LifeNews.com reiterates support for Hawley

Hensley also campaigned Thursday in Clay County with Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards. Planned Parenthood is one of the foremost supporters of abortion rights in the country, and Richards was in Kansas City to canvas for Democrats in Kansas City. Hensley spoke alongside her at the Clay County Democrats Headquarters.

In a related story, Marilyn Musgrave of LifeNews.com, one of the most popular anti-abortion publications on the internet, wrote her support for Hawley included in a broader discussion about the U.S. Senate race.

Josh Hawley is the Republican nominee and is a proven pro-life legal warrior. Look no further than the landmark Hobby Lobby Supreme Court case, which was a big victory for conscience rights and religious liberty: Hawley served as part of the legal team defending Hobby Lobby through his work with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. Hawley is running against Teresa Hensley who is endorsed by EMILY’s List – an extreme pro-abortion group. Missouri needs a strong Attorney General who is ready to defend life-saving laws in the courts! That’s why SBA List Candidate Fund has proudly endorsed Hawley in his election bid.