Fate of Senate control in hands of Missouri voters

Never before in my election memory — and I’ve been voting for 50 years — have Missourians had the rare opportunity to directly impact federal policy.

With the balance of power so razor thin in both the House and Senate, our vote in this year’s Senate race may well determine which political party controls the United States Senate.

And because of this critical decision, Missourians’ votes come Nov. 6 are as important as any vote in America.

Should the Democratic party win control of the House — which is not nearly assured as it was two weeks ago — control of the Senate will determine much of the federal policy over the next two years.

This is indeed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for voters in our state.

I have said many times in the past, the eyes of the nation will fall on Missouri on election night since our Senate selection could be the one election that hands the power of the federal government into the control of either the Democratic or Republican party.

Missouri voters have never ever been in this critical and all-important decision.

I will cast my vote for Josh Hawley.

More specifically, I will vote against Claire McCaskill.

It’s not that I am enamored with Hawley. But McCaskill has proven time and time again she is out of touch and out of step with the values of most Missourians.

McCaskill’s highly-premature vote against Supreme Court nominee and now Justice Brett Kavanaugh was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

McCaskill has been a highly dependable vote against any policies proposed by the Trump administration.

Her ongoing support for a federal health care fiasco, her votes in favor of sanctuary cities and wide-open immigration are simply out of tune with most Missourians.

She fawned over Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton while Missouri voters rejected those liberal policies.

And in a supreme insult to our proud region of the state, she claims she isn’t bothered by losing a “few votes in the Bootheel” for increased support in the St. Louis region.

Apparently, our region’s past support for McCaskill is unimportant. So let’s send her a clear message that her candidacy is equally unimportant.

The next two years and beyond promise to bring upheaval and discord perhaps unprecedented in our American history.

The outcome of this election could either push us closer to the brink or prove an important check and balance over a runaway Democratic party.

McCaskill’s support will come from the urban areas of St. Louis and Kansas City as well as the I-70 corridor.

But Hawley will win the rural votes including southeast Missouri.

What will determine the outcome is voter turnout. And that’s why, especially in our region, it’s important to get out and vote.

Senatorial votes in Tennessee, Nevada, Florida, Texas and other states are critical as well. But none perhaps matches the importance of our vote for our Senator.