WASHINGTON – For the second time in three days, a Missouri Republican went on Fox News to launch a bid for U.S. Senate.
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt formally declared his candidacy Wednesday on "Fox & Friends," known as the favorite morning show of former President Donald Trump.
It sets up a GOP primary match-up between Schmitt, the state’s top law enforcement official, and former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, who resigned from office three years ago in the face of multiple scandals.
Both men launched their campaigns on Fox News and made direct appeals to the former president, an avid cable news watcher whose endorsement could determine the GOP nominee in the Republican-leaning state.
Schmitt said President Joe Biden was dismantling Trump’s agenda and he framed his candidacy as a way to restore it.
“Washington, D.C. needs more fighters needs more reinforcements to save America. So, after a lot of reflection, support from folks back home, and on behalf of the people of the great state of Missouri, I’m announcing my candidacy for the United States Senate,” Schmitt said.
Schmitt was one of state attorneys general most heavily involved in the failed effort to contest the 2020 presidential election, organizing an amicus brief in support of Texas’ lawsuit against swing states that went for President Joe Biden.
He has also signed onto early lawsuits against Biden’s administration, including a court challenge last week to Biden’s cancellation of the Keystone Pipeline.
Schmitt invoked Trump’s name multiple times in a statement released by his campaign minutes after the interview. He pledged to support Trump’s policies in the Senate and touted his allegiance to Trump as attorney general.
“I fought alongside President Trump in defending election integrity, championing pro-growth economic policy, protecting our energy independence and standing up to radical prosecutors who have allowed violent crime to rule our cities,” Schmitt said, referencing his unsuccessful efforts to gain concurrent jurisdiction in St. Louis murder cases.
“As Attorney General, I’ve already sued the Biden administration and I’m going to keep suing Joe Biden to protect all Missourians when necessary.”
Schmitt, 45, was elected state treasurer in 2016. He was appointed attorney general in 2019 by Gov. Mike Parson after fellow Republican Josh Hawley’s election to the U.S. Senate. He was elected to a full term as an attorney general in November.
Prior to his statewide positions, Schmitt served on the Glendale City Council and in the Missouri Senate.
As attorney general, Schmitt has remained committed to a lawsuit seeking to overturn the Affordable Care Act, first joined by Hawley, even after the state’s voters approved Medicaid expansion in August, something the ACA makes possible.
He also filed a lawsuit last year against the Chinese government related to its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The case, which was filed 11 months ago, has not moved forward as China has refused to be served the complaint.
Schmitt’s entry into the race to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Roy Blunt was widely anticipated.
The timing of his announcement— just two days after Greitens— suggests he is seeking to consolidate support as an alternative to the former governor as other high-profile Republicans, including multiple members of the congressional delegation, contemplate runs.
A source close to Schmitt said Greitens’ announcement did not affect his timeline.
Schmitt’s news release mentions his wife, Jaime, and their three children, a signal that he may seek to highlight his family life during the campaign against the former governor.
Greitens has denied allegations of sexual blackmail and violence, but a GOP-led committee found the testimony of his alleged victim credible and the Missouri House had launched impeachment proceedings prior to his resignation in 2018.
After Schmitt announced his candidacy, Greitens took to Twitter to reassert his fealty to the former president.
“I am proud to be a champion of President Trump and his America First Policies that have brought broad based prosperity to the people of Missouri,” Greitens said on Twitter, posting a clip of a Fox News interview.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, who is weighing a run as a Democrat, poked fun at how the Republican primary was playing out entirely on the cable channel.
“I guess look out it if I’m on Fox News anytime soon,” he said on Twitter after Schmitt’s announcement.
Lucas, who has called Greitens unfit for office, contrasted the former governor against the attorney general.
“I have strong disagreements with Eric Schmitt’s political actions and the lawsuits he’s brought (China, election overturn, etc.), but he is a good man, father, and husband at his core. I wish him well in the Republican primary. I hope me saying that doesn’t hurt him,” Lucas said.
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