Trump, Biden Stump, Protests Planned As MO Elections Approach

ST. LOUIS, MO — Voters go to the polls across Missouri in less than a week (Tuesday, November 6 — did you write it down?) and the campaign for senate is kicking into high gear.

Former Vice President Joe Biden will stump for Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill in a Halloween-night rally in Bridgeton. Doors open at 6 p.m. at the Machinists District 9 office at 12365 St. Charles Rock Road, Fox 2 reports.

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McCaskill is expected to have a tough reelection ahead of her this year, and hanging on to her seat will be key to Democratic hopes of retaking the Senate. In previous races, she has benefited from opponents willing to say outlandish and offensive things on tape.

McCaskill has called herself "authentically a moderate," and in her campaign has often tried to walk a fine line between her Democratic base and the state's rural, more conservative bent. At an appearance at a St. Louis coffee shop last month, according to the Associated Press, McCaskill defended voting for increased border security, said she didn't think NFL players kneeling during the national anthem is appropriate — "but I respect anybody's right to do it" — and put a damper on talk of a looming presidential impeachment.

(SEE ALSO: Missouri Midterms 2018: Races To Watch)

Josh Hawley, McCaskill's challenger and Missouri's Republican attorney general, has taken a different approach in his run for office, embracing the president, whose approval ratings hover around 40 percent nationally but are 10 points higher in Missouri, according to the polling aggregation and analysis website FiveThirtyEight.

KMOV reports President Trump will stump for Hawley on November 1 in Columbia, Missouri in an attempt to shore up support for his candidate, who is trailing in most polls — but just barely. That rally will be held in a hangar at the Columbia Regional Airport.

Trump will also hold a campaign rally the night before the election in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, showing how important the state is to GOP hopes of not just keeping the senate red but possibly expanding their majority.

The rally is scheduled for 9 p.m. on November 5 at the Show Me Center.

Protests are also being planned for Trump's visits, ABC 17 News reports. Local progressive and transgender activists will greet the president at the airport for his rally on Thursday and Our Revolution Mid-Missouri, a Bernie Sanders-inspired progressive group, will hold a competing rally at the Boone County Courthouse Thursday evening.

"Trump is coming to Mid-Missouri," the group wrote on the event's Facebook page. "Instead of listening to his lies, we will be rallying at the courthouse to show what we really stand for. Come join us in solidarity against this administration, and commitment to winning back our government on November 6th!"

Photo: Protesters greet President Donald Trump during a visit to St. Charles, Missouri, last October. (J. Ryne Danielson/Patch)