BUYER’S REMORSE

Missouri GOP Sen. Who Preceded Hawley: Backing Him Was ‘Worst Mistake I Ever Made’

John Danforth, who represented the Show Me State in the Senate from 1976 to 1995, said the would-be overthrower of democracy was “doing real harm.”

One of Sen. Josh Hawley’s (R-MO) predecessors has some buyer’s remorse. John Danforth, a Republican who held Hawley’s U.S. Senate seat from 1976 to 1995, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Thursday that supporting the would-be overthrower of democracy before his 2018 election “was the worst mistake I ever made in my life.” Hawley, along with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), led charges to object to the Electoral College vote on baseless allegations of fraud before Wednesday’s pro-Trump riot at the U.S. Capitol. Hawley was seen pumping his fist at the crowd before the insurrection, in which four people died. “This guy is doing real harm,” Danforth said. “What he’s doing to his party is one thing. What he’s doing to the country is much worse.”