In the wake of scathing reports about Missouri Republicans' frustration with Josh Hawley's refusal to campaign, Hawley is fleeing Missouri to hob-knob with national GOP elites and high-dollar donors. Hawley is jetting off to Indiana today for a fundraiser with Vice President Pence, followed by a closed-door Washington D.C. fundraiser with Mitch McConnell and Republican Senate leadership on Tuesday. Wonder how local Missouri Republican leaders, who this week said they feel like Hawley "doesn't care" about them and is "arrogant," feel about this latest fundraising trip...

On the heels of a Politico report highlighting Republican frustration with Josh Hawley's lifeless campaign, Politico reporter Alex Isenstadt joined St. Louis conservative radio host Mark Reardon to discuss what Missouri Republicans had to say about Hawley's inaccessibility. As Reardon put it, "if a guy can't have courage to come on in what would be deemed friendly territory to answer questions, why should people support that person for the U.S. Senate?"

Following a Politico report on Republicans' widespread frustration with Josh Hawley's Senate campaign, the Springfield News-Leader has outlined how Hawley has also been failing to do his job as Attorney General. Months after Hawley cleared Governor Greitens in his use of text message-deleting app Confide, a lawsuit against the Governor has yielded more answers than Hawley's investigation "in large part because the lawyer working the case didn't shy away from asking questions." 

During his 2016 campaign for Attorney General, Josh Hawley railed against previous Missouri Attorneys General, saying, “There needs to be a shift in priorities at the Attorney General's office... we've had Attorneys General who have used the office for their own political advancement.” But just 16 months after taking office, Hawley has embodied the very behavior he campaigned against.

"GOP golden boy" Josh Hawley was trending on Twitter in Washington D.C. yesterday -- but not for the reason one might expect. After speaking to more than two dozen Republican campaign operatives, donors, lawmakers, and local leaders, POLITICO reported that Hawley is seen as “a lackadaisical candidate who has posted sluggish fundraising numbers, turned down interviews with conservative radio show hosts, and spurned traditional GOP events considered a rite of passage for a potential U.S. senator.”

Columbia Daily Tribune editorial writer Hank Waters today denounced Josh Hawley's investigation into Governor Greitens' use of Confide, saying that his "every belief about the Sunshine Law denies Hawley's interpretation." Waters also noted that a lawyer challenging Greitens’ use of Confide has subpoenaed Hawley for information explaining why his investigation found no wrongdoing. According to The Kansas City Star, it was that same lawsuit -- not Hawley's investigation -- that forced Governor Greitens to admit that he used text message-deleting app, Confide.

Today, POLITICO reported that Missouri Republicans are frustrated by Josh Hawley's refusal to campaign for Senate. According to POLITICO interviews with over two dozen senior Republican strategists, donors, lawmakers and local officials depict Hawley, "as a lackadaisical candidate who has posted sluggish fundraising numbers, turned down interviews with conservative radio show hosts, and spurned traditional GOP events considered a rite of passage for a potential U.S. senator."

Last week on the Mark Reardon Show, Reardon questioned where Josh Hawley has been recently. Reardon noted that Hawley is "sort of M.I.A. right now" and that he is "going to have to start campaigning at a certain point more publicly."

A judge has denied Governor Eric Greitens' motion to dismiss a Sunshine Project lawsuit alleging that the Governor used text messaging app, Confide, to destroy government records. The judge slammed Grietens defense, noting that "the argument that the use of the Confide app excuses compliance because nothing is retained holds less water than a policy of using disappearing ink for all official documents."

The Columbia Daily Tribune yesterday reported that Josh Hawley "has repeatedly bashed the value of a university degree" while campaigning in Missouri. The Tribune noted that Hawley -- who himself was educated at both Stanford and Yale -- was a Mizzou law professor and his wife is currently on faculty at Mizzou. A spokesman for Mizzou responded to Hawley's comments by saying, "The university and university leaders believe there is no better vehicle for advancement and quality of life than public higher education."