Missouri AG Eric Schmitt tops Eric Greitens in Republican U.S. Senate contest
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt won the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate on Tuesday night, according to Associated Press projections, emerging the victor from a packed and prominent primary field and positioning himself as the likely favorite entering the November general election.
Schmitt, who ran a campaign defined by frequent and headline-grabbing litigation against political opponents, was propelled in the final weeks of the campaign by a storm of outside spending and criticism against one of his chief opponents, former Gov. Eric Greitens. He came out on top against Greitens, U.S. Reps. Vicky Hartzler and Billy Long, and a slew of other GOP candidates.
In his bid to succeed the retiring U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, Schmitt will face the Democratic nominee and independent conservative candidate John Wood in November. He will be the favorite to win in a Missouri that has trended increasingly toward Republicans in recent statewide races.
Schmitt represented St. Louis County in the state Senate before a stint as state treasurer. He was appointed attorney general by Gov. Mike Parson in late 2018 after his predecessor and soon-to-be senior U.S. senator, Hawley, won election. Schmitt won another four-year term in 2020 before announcing his run for Senate.
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As attorney general, Schmitt has filed a flurry of lawsuits that have garnered headlines. He touts the litigation as evidence that he is a "conservative fighter" who will "take a blowtorch to Biden's socialist agenda." He has sued school districts over curriculum transparency requests, the Biden administration over COVID-19 vaccine requirements, and the nation of China for liability over early infections from the virus. Moments after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, he issued an opinion activating the state's ban on abortion.
Throughout the campaign, he has frequently derided Democrats, proponents of pandemic guidelines and climate scientists and advocates alike, mocking "the experts (tm)" on social media and arguing that they were manufacturing crises to gain power.
Schmitt was the beneficiary of significant outside spending during the primary. He saw over $7 million spent in support of his campaign, according to OpenSecrets — the most of any candidate, while super PACs backing him attacked Greitens and Hartzler. He has received the most money of any candidate in the country from Americans for Prosperity Action, a PAC extension of the libertarian conservative group founded by the Koch brothers. The group has backed him to the tune of $4.3 million.
Schmitt was one of the beneficiaries of a last-minute "endorsement" from former President Donald Trump, who simply backed "ERIC" and said he "trusts the Great People of Missouri, on this one, to make up their own minds." Both he and Greitens claimed the vague endorsement as their own.
Greitens, who entered the race with the highest name recognition in the field, resigned the governorship in 2018 facing allegations of sexual misconduct and potential campaign finance violations. New accusations from his ex-wife of domestic abuse toward her and their children brought a new wave of criticism and scrutiny that led to millions of dollars of outside spending from Republican officials and donors around the country, airing frequent television, online and mail ads that center around his litany of scandals.
Hartzler, who has represented west-central Missouri in the House since 2011, ran a campaign touting herself as the reliable conservative choice with a proven record in Washington. She was endorsed by soon-to-be-senior U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley and touted a platform defined by "faith, family and freedom," but was publicly rebuked in the final weeks of the campaign by former President Donald Trump and was unable to break through the top contenders.
Hawley congratulated Schmitt on his victory on Twitter, writing "now on to victory in November."
Long, who frequently touted his early support for Trump in an effort to earn his endorsement, failed to receive it or gain momentum throughout the race. Before the winner was officially called Tuesday night, he conceded on Twitter.
"I just called (Eric Schmitt) and congratulated him on a big victory tonight and offered my full endorsement and cooperation going forward," Long wrote. Anything I can do to help I will and he and his great team know that. On the (sic) November!"
Former U.S. Sen. John Danforth, who is backing independent conservative candidate and former Jan. 6 House committee lawyer John Wood, said in a statement Tuesday evening that "the choice is clear — more of the same, divisive politics as usual or something totally new."
"If you think that politics is broken, that each party is off-track, that by pandering to its extremes, it has polarized America, then you can do something about it," Danforth said. "You can send politicians a message that we are one united country. You can vote for John Wood for U.S. Senate."
Galen Bacharier covers Missouri politics & government for the News-Leader. Contact him at [email protected], (573) 219-7440 or on Twitter @galenbacharier.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: AG Eric Schmitt wins Republican U.S. Senate nomination in Missouri