Josh Hawley's mentor endorses independent opponent in Senate race

Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, recently saw his former GOP mentor endorse his opponent in the race for his Senate seat, according to reports.

John Danforth, a retired GOP senator and Hawley's former mentor, reportedly said after Jan. 6 that his support of Hawley was the "worst mistake" of his life. Now, he's backing Independent U.S. Senate candidate Jared Young, according to St. Louis Post-Dispatch's report on Thursday.

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"Young is a moderate conservative and independent candidate running under the Better Party for the Senate seat representing Missouri," according to the report. "Danforth, in his written endorsement, said Young 'embraces the ideas that have always defined the Republican Party and have been universally accepted across its membership.'"

This isn't the first time Danforth has made a similar move. In 2022, Danforth was urging Missourians to vote for attorney John Wood, who left his role as a Jan. 6 select committee investigator to return home and run for U.S. Senate as an independent. In that case, Danforth gave a whopping $5 million donation to the challenger.

“I am honored by Senator Danforth’s endorsement,” Young said, according to the report. “We share the belief there are real solutions to complex problems if we can reject the angry, divisive tactics that have overtaken American politics.”

According to St. Louis Post-Dispatch's new report, "Hawley also faces Democratic nominee Lucas Kunce, Libertarian W.C. Young and Socialist Equality Party candidate Doris Canady on Nov. 5."

You can read the full article right here.