Missouri AG Eric Schmitt Beats Eric Greitens In GOP Senate Primary Tight Race | USA DOWNTOWN KNEWS
Schmitt received more votes than U.S. Reps. Vicky Hartzler and Eric Greitens combined, turning what was expected to be a close race into a rout.
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| Source: AP News |
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt won the Republican primary for U.S. Senate with surprising ease on Tuesday, putting an end to months of concern among GOP leaders that scandal-plagued former Gov. Eric Greitens would win the primary and jeopardise what should be a reliably red seat in November. Schmitt will be challenged in November by Trudy Busch Valentine, the Anheuser-Busch beer heiress who defeated Marine veteran Lucas Kunce and nine others in the Democratic primary. Both are also up against a well-funded independent, John Wood, who is backed financially by former Senator John Danforth. Schmitt had more votes than his nearest two competitors — U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler and Greitens — combined, turning what was expected to be a close race into a blowout. "I'm proud of my working-class roots, and I'm going to Washington to fight for working families, defeat socialism, and lead the fight to save America," Schmitt declared during his victory speech in St. Louis suburbs. Greitens told a depressed audience in another St. Louis suburb to "go home with strength and pride." Greitens stated, "God has a plan." "It may not always work on our timeline, but it does on his. We must sometimes exercise patience." Greitens stepped down four years ago after a sex scandal, two criminal charges that were later dropped, and a legislative investigation that could have led to impeachment hearings. His ex-wife accused him of abuse this year. Following Republican Sen. Roy Blunt's announcement last year that he would not seek a third term, nearly three dozen people from both major parties filed to run for his seat. Schmitt defeated Hartzler, U.S. Rep. Billy Long, and Mark McCloskey, who gained notoriety in 2020 after pointing guns at racial injustice protesters outside their home. Darrel Durham, a 63-year-old heavy equipment operator from Columbia, believes Schmitt will bring a fresh perspective to Washington. Durham stated, "I like all of his positions on draining the swamp." Former President Donald Trump expressed support for "ERIC," presumably referring to either Schmitt or Greitens, without specifying which one. Comedian and Navy veteran Eric McElroy was also on the Republican primary ballot. "I trust the Great People of Missouri to make their own minds on this one, just as they did when they gave me landslide victories in the 2016 and 2020 elections, and I am thus proud to announce that ERIC has my Complete and Total Endorsement!" Trump penned a letter. Voter Richard Greenup, a 66-year-old computer programmer from Columbia, said he prefers Schmitt over Greitens because "good or bad, Schmitt, I don't think, has that baggage." Greitens, a former Navy SEAL officer and Rhodes scholar, had been governor for a year when he confirmed a television report about an extramarital affair in 2015. He was later charged with felony invasion of privacy for allegedly photographing the woman naked and using it to keep her quiet. After allegations that the chief investigator and local prosecutor mishandled the investigation, the charge was dropped months later. Greitens, 48, claims he was the target of a political assassination. He was also charged with illegally using a donor list from a charity he founded to raise funds for his campaign. After the Missouri House launched an impeachment investigation, he resigned in June 2018. Greitens has denied the abuse allegations made by his ex-wife in an affidavit filed in a child custody case. He allegedly slapped their then-3-year-old son's face and yanked him by the hair, according to her. She accused him of pushing her to the ground in another. Greitens was also chastised for a June campaign video in which he brandished a shotgun and declared that he was hunting RINOs, or "Republicans in Name Only." Schmitt, 47, has gained notoriety for a series of lawsuits that critics claim are politically motivated. He filed lawsuits against China over the coronavirus, school districts over mask mandates, and the city of St. Louis over its plan to provide $1 million to women who travel out of state for abortions. "I've always been a fighter, and as your attorney general, I fought in court to protect those liberties," Schmitt said in his victory speech, citing, among other things, mask and vaccine mandates. Valentine, 65, is the daughter of Anheuser-Busch chairman and CEO August "Gussie" Busch Jr., who built the St. Louis-based company into the world's largest beermaker. InBev purchased the brewery in 2008. Valentine said she decided to run after witnessing "divergence in our country and vitriol in our politics." In her victory speech, Valentine said, "After hundreds of career politicians, it's time for a nurse in the Senate." Bob Westlake, 67, and Mary Jo Westlake, 69, both voted for Valentine. The Chesterfield couple admired her efforts to improve health-care coverage. "Health care is very important to us," Bob Westlake said, adding that they have a chronically ill daughter and that he and his wife are on Medicare. Despite Senator Bernie Sanders' endorsement, Kunce, 39, lost. Kunce has served in Afghanistan and Iraq. Kunce, like Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman, positioned himself as a populist. Wood's entry into the race added to the drama. Wood, 52, has been a lifelong Republican, a former U.S. attorney, and most recently a top investigator for the U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurgency. Danforth's political action committee has pledged to spend up to $20 million in support of Wood's campaign. Content Source: |
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