KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri Republican candidates for U.S. Senate competed against each other for votes in Kansas City on Friday, mixing hard-right messages with biting comedy.
Rep. Vicky Hartzler, Rep. Billy Long and St. Louis attorney Mark McCloskey — three of the five major GOP candidates — fought for support at a $25 per-ticket forum held by Clay County Republicans in the clubhouse of the Shoal Creek Golf Course.
Each asserted their conservative credentials as they jockey for supremacy about 10 months before the primary election to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt.
The candidates revealed few differences on policy. All condemned President Joe Biden's handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal. All were aghast at the idea of defunding the police. All expressed anger at vaccine mandates.
The real competition was over connecting with the conservative audience of several dozen on a more emotional level as they channeled fury and tried to entertain.
McCloskey rose to prominence after he and his wife brandished weapons outside their home in 2020 as Black Lives Matter demonstrators marched by. Gov. Mike Parson pardoned the couple of charges related to the incident. He began with an impression of Biden, portraying the president as a confused, elderly man.
"My people, they give me notes ... here they are," McCloskey said as he mumbled to himself. "My name is Joe?"
He called Biden the "alleged president" — a nod to the false view that Biden wasn't legitimately elected — and referred to Biden as a puppet with someone who pulls his string, further suggesting the president is senile or not fully in control.
"We don't have time for regular politics. I call this a post-political time in America where each and every one of us needs to stand up and make a personal committment to freedom," McCloskey said.
A bit later, he added:"We all have to stand up and say, 'No, we will not comply. No we will resist. We will not be sheep. We will be the America we all remember from our youth when this was a free country'."
Long, who has represented southwest Missouri in Congress since 2011, took a more self-deprecating approach as he emphasized that he had been an early and ardent supporter of former President Donald Trump.
"I originated the phrase 'Trump train.' I'm the first guy. I took heat for it forever," Long said. "Everybody thought he was a joke."
Long said when he ran for office the first time, more than a decade ago, he was told he was too fat and advised not to put his picture on anything. Now, as he runs for Senate, he said he decided to do it his way, plastering his face, complete with huge cowboy hat, on the side of an RV dubbed the "Billy Bus."
"Don't vote wrong, vote Long and don't be silly, vote for Billy," he said.
Hartzler, who has represented west central Missouri since 2011, touted her record in Congress, including support for the military, involvement in multiple farm bills, support for tax cuts under Trump and rural broadband. She also promised she would continue to block funding for abortion and Planned Parenthood.
She said the past actions of former President Barack Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pale in comparison to what the current Democratic leadership, an "evil trifecta," has done.
"We have an economic crisis, runaway inflation, now they're having tax hikes, they're trying to kill jobs," Hartzler said, adding that "we have a moral crisis where evil is being called good and good is being called evil."
One of the few times one candidate directly attacked another came when Long downplayed Hartzler's conservative voting record. Long compared his voting scores from the Club for Growth and American Conservative Union to Hartzler's, saying his are higher.
"I know Vicky cut an ad this week, said she's a lifetime conservative," Long said.
Club for Growth gave Hartzler a 61% score for 2020 and a 66% lifetime score, compared to 92% and 78% for Long. The American Conservative Union gave Hartzler a rating of 79/100 in 2020 and Long a rating of 93/100.
Hartzler didn't directly address the attack, but before Long spoke said she had voted with Trump 95% of the time. That figure appears drawn from an analysis from FiveThirtyEight, which said Hartzler voted in line with Trump's position 95.1% of the time. The site scored Long at 93.9%.
"I voted with President Trump 95% of the time, tied with Blaine Luetkemeyer," Hartzler said, referring to Missouri's representative in the 3rd congressional district.
Two major Republican candidates, Attorney General Eric Schmitt and former Gov. Eric Greitens, didn't attend.
