ST. LOUIS _ Eric Greitens, the newly crowned GOP nominee for governor in Missouri, thanked his supporters for what he called a revolutionary "grass-roots" effort.
"I know how hard my opponents fought," Greitens said, congratulating all three of competitors in the most expensive primary in Missouri history.
He called for the party to come back together to address larger issues.
With 82 percent of the statewide votes in, Greitens continues to hold his 10 percentage point lead over John Brunner. Brunner, Peter Kinder and Catherine Hanaway all conceded shortly before 10 p.m.
Greitens will face Attorney General Chris Koster, a Democrat, in the November General election.
In an emotional speech, former Missouri House Speaker Hanaway said she hopes her campaign set an example "for young women to go out and take a change."
"I'm very glad I did this," she said to her supporters in Brentwood.
In a speech to his supporters in Cape Girardeau, Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder expressed well wishes for Greitens.
"Winning high public office is a great honor and I've experienced that," Kinder said. "I've experienced the joy and elation of victory in statewide races three times. It was not to be tonight. I have told myself on each of my wins, 2004, 2008, 2012, that victory is an impostor and defeat is an impostor. Things are never as rosy as they seem when you win and they're never as dark when you come up short. I have, for the first time in my career, come up short after six wins. So this is a new experience and I salute the winner who, apparently, is Mr. Greitens and wish him well."
