U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley built a rocket-ship political career with a proud embrace of Trumpism and defiant nose-thumbing to anybody who had a problem with that.
When the Republican lawmaker made his way to the U.S. Capitol last week to challenge the outcome of the presidential election, he passed by a group of Trump supporters. He raised an energetic fist in the air. The crowd cheered.
Hours later, pro-Trump extremists breached the U.S. Capitol while Hawley and other lawmakers took cover. Ultimately, five people died.
The backlash against Hawley was sharp. His political mentor, former U.S. Sen. John Danforth, now says supporting Hawley was the worst mistake of his life. Top donors say they regret giving him the money to run for office. One told the that Hawley is a political opportunist who helped incite the riot that overran the home of Congress.
But in a political party where polls show the majority of Republicans don鈥檛 trust the 2020 election results, Hawley still finds loyal supporters who admire how he refuses to retreat.
Jackson, Caldwell and Andrew counties GOP chairs told KCUR Hawley still has their backing and the support from a wide range of conservatives.
鈥淕rassroots doesn鈥檛 care about donors,鈥� said Jean Evans, the former executive director of the Missouri state Republican Party. 鈥淚 mean, that鈥檚 not how they make their decisions.鈥�
鈥淗e鈥檚 representing us鈥�
Mary Potter, a retired teacher and Blue Springs city councilmember, volunteered on his U.S. Senate campaign. Potter said the Fox News Channel should have done a better job in the hours after the insurrection representing Hawley鈥檚 viewpoint. She was dismayed to learn that Simon & Schuster canceled Hawley鈥檚 book deal about big tech companies.
鈥淲e need to get a different publisher if they judge everything on one situation,鈥� Potter said. 鈥淢ost of his constituents in Missouri feel the same way I do. He鈥檚 representing us. He doesn鈥檛 have to represent them.鈥�
Caldwell County GOP Chair Richard Lee wasn鈥檛 shocked by the insurrection at the nation鈥檚 Capitol. While he condemns the violence, he said it was the result of an election he contends 鈥� without evidence 鈥� turned on fraudulent results.
鈥淲hat shocked me the most is that it came as a surprise to people. It鈥檚 been coming for a long time,鈥� Lee said. 鈥淲hen people don't have faith in your election, things like this happened.鈥�
Lee and three other Republicans active in county-level Republican organizing told KCUR they don鈥檛 blame Hawley for the violence, and they think the news media stoked an unfair backlash against him.
As far as Andrew County GOP chairman Mark Schneider is concerned, media outlets like The New York Times, NPR and CBS are just 鈥渢he public relations arm of the Democratic Party.鈥�
He said media coverage pressured top Republican donors to abandon Hawley.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a lot of media hype being dumped on Hawley that is undeserved,鈥� Schneider is said.
Even among Republicans who don鈥檛 buy into election conspiracies, Hawley still has some supporters, like Missouri Republican state committee member Taunia Allen Mason. She said Hawley wasn鈥檛 representing her voice when he objected to certifying the Electoral College votes of Arizona and Pennsylvania.
鈥淪ometimes when bad things happen, you just don鈥檛 drop and run,鈥� Mason said. 鈥淪ometimes you just got to stick in there. You got to stay there for the long haul.鈥�
The 鈥榬esponsibility鈥� of leadership
Nationally, only a quarter of Republicans trust the 2020 election results, according to a by NPR, PBS NewsHour and Marist.
鈥淪omebody has to stand up here. You have (millions of) Americans who feel disenfranchised, who feel like their vote doesn鈥檛 matter,鈥� Hawley told Fox News in December. His office didn鈥檛 respond to a KCUR request for comment.
There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud. (For a run-down of election misinformation, check out The .) Evans said 鈥渋t鈥檚 a recipe for trouble鈥� when millions believe the lie that the election was stolen. However, she still supports Hawley even while disagreeing with his efforts to overturn the election.
鈥滱ll these people from Missouri are calling him and saying, 鈥楾his is how we feel. We want you to do this,鈥欌�� Evans said. 鈥淗e was responding to constituents.鈥�
Evans was fielding some of those same calls back in December as the executive director of the state GOP. The tone of the voicemails got increasingly disturbing 鈥� someone called asking for a military coup. Evans stepped down from party leadership a few weeks before she was scheduled to depart because she could no longer defend the president when he said the election was rigged and lobbied state officials to change the results.
In fact, an increasing number of prominent Republicans distanced themselves from Trump even before last week鈥檚 storming of the Capitol.
鈥淭he best way we can show respect for the voters who are upset is by telling them the truth,鈥� Sen. Mitt Romney said on the Senate floor last week. 鈥淭hat's the burden, that's the duty of leadership.鈥�
After police cleared rioters from the Capitol, Hawley鈥檚 effort to challenge the Electoral College results saw defections and increasing hostility in Congress and across mainstream politics.
Michael Suttmoeller, a Missouri State professor who studies extremism, said he doesn鈥檛 blame Hawley for inciting last week鈥檚 riot. But he said that the senator鈥檚 rhetoric 鈥渟toked鈥� the flames.
鈥淭he people that ended up storming the Capitol,鈥� Suttmoeller said, 鈥淭hey were waiting for somebody to tell them that they were right and (there was) fraud.鈥�
鈥淭urd in the punchbowl鈥�
But there is some real abandonment of Hawley. Republican state Rep. Shamed Dogan in Ballwin said he鈥檚 never regretted voting for someone so much.
鈥淗e lost a lot of respect,鈥� Dogan said. 鈥淚 don't think he understands the depth of anger that's out there. I think he only listens to people who support him.鈥�
Dogan is a political moderate Republican who voted for Joe Biden in November, the first time he鈥檚 ever voted for a Democrat for president.
In Washington, various Democratic senators are calling for Hawley鈥檚 resignation. And a Republican colleague said Hawley鈥檚 objections to the electoral college results were Democratic campaign consultant Martin Hamburger said Hawley can only play to the crowds now, without much hope of passing legislation.
鈥�(The Senate is) a place where you can be effective if you're the turd in the Punchbowl,鈥� Hamburger said, 鈥渂ut only in a limited way.鈥�
This week, the 41-year-old Hawley went back on The Fox News Channel and complained to Tucker Carlson about the canceling of a book deal. It was his first interview since the riot, which wasn't discussed. Instead, to an audience of millions, he cast himself as a senator silenced by a publishing giant.
鈥淎t a time of division, we鈥檝e got to rally around the things that unite us as Americans,鈥� Hawley said. 鈥淭he first amendment and free speech has got to be at the top of that list.鈥�
Critics say a politician who鈥檚 touted himself as a constitutional law specialist would know that the First Amendment gives publishing houses the freedom not to print authors they disapprove of. But, like his effort to reverse the outcome of a presidential election, Hawley continues to cast himself as the defiant one.
In that context, Hawley represents a split between the forever-Trump wing of the party and those who鈥檝e begun to distance themselves from a president ending his term in chaos.
Dogan and Evans want the Republican Party that represents conservative values, and doesn鈥檛 create fictions to win arguments or declare victory after an election.
鈥淲e have some problems and a lot of it has to do with the tepid support that President Trump has gotten for the first two years of his administration,鈥� Schneider said. 鈥淚 would like to think that the 鈥楳ake America Great Again鈥� attitude will remain fully intact and in force.鈥�
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