Though most analysts consider Missouri to be a safe seat for Republicans, Senator Josh Hawley’s first reelection campaign proved closer than anticipated. Democrats were buoyed by a ballot initiative to enshrine reproductive rights in the state which seemed likely to succeed as election day approached. Hawley’s pro-life activism, role in the events of the January 6 insurrection, and description of himself as a “Christian nationalist” provided his opponent a line of attack. The race thus served as a referendum on his political approach, which displays elements of a new Republican populism alongside an illiberal partisanship. However, the coattail effects of Donald Trump and the deep structural advantage for Republicans proved insurmountable for the Democratic candidate, Yale alum and former Marine, Lt. Col. Lucas Kunce.