KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ With political tensions running high heading into the final 10 days of the nation's midterm elections, the candidates for Missouri's pivotal U.S. Senate race issued a call for civility.
But during an hourlong debate Thursday in Kansas City, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, the potentially endangered Missouri Democrat, did not relent in her criticism of President Donald Trump, who she said knowingly spreads false information to gain political points.
"I don't like it that he lies all the time. I don't get why he feels the need to do that," McCaskill said.
And her opponent, Republican Attorney General Josh Hawley, said Democrats were ginning up ideas of violence in response to the GOP being in control in Washington.
"I think we need to send a clear signal that rhetoric that encourages confrontation and violence is not acceptable," Hawley said. "I am very concerned about the culture of incivility. It is extremely concerning to see politics come to this level."
Their comments came in the midst of a third and final debate as the two head toward the Nov. 6 election.
The forum, hosted by KMBC in Kansas City, came as McCaskill has outraised Hawley by almost 4-to-1.
But that wide financial lead and the ability to flood the airwaves with ads haven't translated into a big bump in support. The two have been neck and neck in the polls for weeks in a state that Trump won by 19 points in 2016.
Hawley has embraced Trump and his policies and was joined on the campaign trail Thursday by Lara Trump, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign and daughter-in-law to the president.
Vice President Mike Pence, who has campaigned for Hawley, also appears on a digital ad released this week. Pence tells Missourians that on key Trump administration priorities, McCaskill has been on the wrong side, voting no on tax cuts, repeal and replace of Obamacare and confirming justices to the Supreme Court.
McCaskill said the national drift toward hyperpartisanship is not the product of one party.
"This is a problem on both sides," McCaskill said. "We've got to turn down the temperature."
McCaskill has touted her moderate credentials and urged voters to look at her accomplishments, not her party identification.
"Clearly we can work together on some things," McCaskill said of Trump.
"She's a liberal Democrat," Hawley said. "It's a record that doesn't work for Missouri."
Throughout much of the debate, the two trod familiar ground.
McCaskill again hit Hawley for joining 19 other states in suing to eliminate the Affordable Care Act, which would eliminate coverage for pre-existing conditions.
"He made a conscious decision to do that knowing that there is no backup," McCaskill said.
But Hawley said he supports a plan known as re-insurance that would help insurers cover the costs for their most expensive patients, thus allowing them to lower overall monthly premiums for everyone.
"I do support federal re-insurance," Hawley said. "We do not need Obamacare to cover people with pre-existing conditions. This whole campaign has been a big scare tactic for Sen. McCaskill."
The two also battled over the tariffs imposed by Trump as part of his trade war with China. Hawley said he backs the tariffs, while McCaskill said they are hurting farmers and Missouri businesses.
Others in the race include independent candidate Craig O'Dear, Green Party candidate Jo Crain and Libertarian Japeth Campbell. KMBC invited only McCaskill and Hawley to the debate.
