Poll: McCaskill, Hawley in dead heat in race for Missouri Senate seat

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley (R) are in a statistical tie in their Senate race, according to a new NBC News/Marist poll released Tuesday.

Both candidates get 47 percent support from likely voters, while 5 percent are undecided. Republicans, who currently hold a 50-49 majority in the Senate, are targeting McCaskill’s seat in a race that has been rated as a “toss-up” by The Cook Political Report.

{mosads} When the poll is expanded to include Libertarian and Green Party candidates, McCaskill leads Hawley 44-40, but that is within the poll’s margin of error. 

McCaskill is facing a lopsided approval rating, with 41 percent of likely voters viewing her positively compared with 49 percent who view her in a negative light.

Hawley has a 36-36 favorable/unfavorable rating. However, 28 percent of likely voters are unsure or have never heard of him. 

However, the Missouri senator may be buoyed by the enthusiasm of her supporters. About 68 percent of her backers strongly support her, compared with 46 percent of Hawley’s backers who strongly support him. 

Meanwhile, President Trump had a 45 percent approval rating in Missouri, while 46 percent disapproved of his job performance, according to the poll. 

The NBC News/Marist poll interviewed 774 registered voters and 568 likely voters over landline and mobile phones from Aug. 25-28. The poll has a margin of error of 4.2 percentage points among registered voters and 4.8 percentage points among likely voters.