McCaskill, possible rival Hawley meet at Missouri State Fair

SEDALIA, Mo. -- Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill and her potential Republican rival, Attorney General Josh Hawley, met for the first time Thursday at the Missouri State Fair and discussed a rare area of agreement: efforts to combat human trafficking.

The two met under a tent during the annual Governor's Ham Breakfast, a tradition for political hopefuls in the state.

McCaskill, up for re-election in 2018, could face a fierce challenge from Hawley. This month, he opened a committee to explore a potential bid for the season, although he hasn't officially entered the race.

The contest is expected to be one of the nation's most competitive as Republicans work to flip another seat in the Senate. McCaskill is one of 10 Democrats up for re-election next year in states won by President Donald Trump, in many cases by wide margins.

Hawley said it was "nice" to meet McCaskill. They discussed efforts to combat human trafficking they say is conducted through the website Backpage.com.

Both have focused on human trafficking in their work as elected officials.

McCaskill was the ranking Democratic member of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and helped with an investigation and report on Backpage.

Hawley's office also is investigating the website for potential violations of the state's consumer-protection laws and recently took Backpage to court to get documents.

McCaskill said she noted more than 1 million pages of documents from the U.S. Senate investigation are available for Hawley to use in his efforts against the website.

"I told him to be sure and call me if there's anything else I could do, because we are certainly of one mind when it comes to going after child sex trafficking," McCaskill said after the conversation.

McCaskill, while offering help, also took some jabs at Hawley. She said the Senate investigation records "could be helpful, particularly with someone with criminal jurisdiction." Missouri's attorney general has limited authority to prosecute criminal cases.

"I think he's trying to use consumer-protection statutes because he doesn't have criminal jurisdiction," McCaskill said. "But I just wanted to make sure he knew that those documents are available by a link, and what he's suing for, we've already got."

When asked about use of the Senate documents, Hawley said he cited "extensively" from the U.S. Senate report in court filings against the website. He didn't comment further on his potential bid for McCaskill's seat.

Pertinent address:

Sedalia, Mo.