Less than two weeks before Missouri voters choose a new attorney general, both candidates are bickering over their resumes.
“After being the [Cass County] prosecutor for 10 years, I have 21 murder convictions out of 21. I have hundreds of felony convictions. Over 500 convictions for sexual assault,” said democratic candidate Teresa Hensley. “I think that record matters if you want to be the top law enforcement official.”
Republican candidate Josh Hawley counters that he also has the chops to protect Missourians.
“I have the experience to do that, whether it’s litigating the U.S. Supreme Court, federal court, fighting back against overreach. That’s what I’ve been doing,” said Hawley.
Hawley worked on behalf of Hobby Lobby in the Supreme Court Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby case.
Hensley questions whether Hawley would be ready on day one as attorney general.
“He has been out of law school for just 10 years. He clerked for 2 judges. He worked for a law firm in DC,” said Hensley. “In a firm that size I doubt they gave him some real responsibility if he was a new lawyer, and then he became a law professor. He really has absolutely no experience to be Attorney General. This isn’t a job for beginners.”
Hawley claims Hensley’s background is questionable.
“She got her only public office as a political favor. She says ‘hire me as attorney general based on the work I did as prosecutor’ but voters fired her from being Cass county prosecutor,” said Hawley.
Hensley defends her original appointment as Cass County prosecutor when Chris Koster vacated the position to become a state Senator in 2004.
“There was still 2 years left on his office, someone had to be appointed,” said Hensley. “It was the governor’s job to appoint someone to that office and I was practicing law for the county for 14 years as a criminal defense attorney.”
Hensley points to election wins in 2006 and 2010 as an affirmation of her work, saying 9 of the 10 years served in the position were by election.
Voters chose republican Ben Butler to be Cass County prosecutor in 2014.
Recent polling shows Hawley with a single digit lead over Hensley.
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Brian Abel can be reached at brian.abel@kshb.com.
