Eric Schmitt wins GOP primary for Senate in Missouri, defeating former Gov. Greitens
Eric Schmitt won the Republican nomination for Senate in Missouri, ending a comeback bid by disgraced former Gov. Eric Greitens. He'll face Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine in November.
Eric Schmitt has won the Republican nomination for Senate in Missouri, NBC News projects, ending a comeback bid by the state’s disgraced former governor, Eric Greitens.
Schmitt, the state’s attorney general, was leading Rep. Vicky Hartzler, with Greitens further behind in third place, according to early results. He will face the winner of Tuesday’s Democratic primary, Trudy Busch Valentine, a nurse and heir to the Anheuser-Busch beer fortune. NBC News projects that Valentine has beat out 10 other Democrats, including Lucas Kunce, a Marine veteran with national support among progressives, who earned a late endorsement from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
The Democratic primary was sleepy compared to the GOP contest, which commanded extraordinary attention for a primary in a reliably red state.
A Greitens victory likely would have made for a more competitive general election to succeed Sen. Roy Blunt, a Republican who is not seeking a third term this fall. John Wood, a former investigator for the House Jan. 6 committee, launched an independent bid, partially out of concern for a Greitens nomination. A longtime Republican, Wood was heavily supported by former Sen. John Danforth, R-Mo., who is bankrolling a pro-Wood super PAC.
Eric Schmitt projected winner in Missouri GOP senate raceAug. 3, 202200:41With control of the 50-50 Senate up for grabs, national GOP groups preferred not to spend money defending a seat in Missouri.
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