Missouri's Senate race to replace Roy Blunt is beginning to take shape as the field expands. Catch up on who's running, who's not and who's waiting.
Galen Bacharier|Springfield News-Leader
The election for Missouri's U.S. Senate seat has begun to take shape in recent weeks, with new candidates jumping into the race, others publicly considering entry and established faces seeking to define their platforms.
The Republican field grew last week as Rep. Vicky Hartzler announced her candidacy, the first sitting member of Congress to join the race. In her opening speech in Lee's Summit, Hartzlervowed to "keep the seat conservative" following Roy Blunt's two-termtenure, and invoked her conservative bona fides regarding COVID-19 public health guidelines, law enforcement and voting with former President Donald Trump.
Blunt announced in March he would not run for re-election next year.
Background: After retirement announcement, Roy Blunt talks GOP unity, Greitens’ criticism and Trump
Hartzler's Senate run means she cannot run for re-election in the House, putting her seat in the state's Fourth Congressional District up for grabs in her partyfor the first time since 2010. The district comprises much of central and western Missouri, where Hartzler has easily won re-election since 2012 — making it an unlikely target for major Democratic resources and funding.
Hartzler joins an already crowded Republican primary for the Senate seat.
The race's most recent entrantprior to her announcement was Mark McCloskey, a St. Louis attorney who made national headlines when he and his wife pointed guns at Black Lives Matter protesters passing their home last summer. His platform isdefinitively populist, labeling himselfa "conservative outsider" and focusing on ousting establishment politicians while defending former President Trump.
Background: Mark McCloskey, St. Louis man who waved rifle at protest, announces Senate run
McCloskey and his wife were indicted by a grand jury in October, and amended charges from a special prosecutor are pending. They have both pleaded not guilty to the charges,with their trialtemporarily set for November.
Compared to his primary opponents thus far, McCloskey is the arguable outsider — though others have claimed the title in the past. He'll vie with former Gov. Eric Greitens, who resigned in 2018 amid scandaland has denied any wrongdoing as he attempts to re-enter Missouri politics; and Attorney General Eric Schmitt, who is putting his litigation involving China, tech companies and the Biden administration front and center.
Greitens was notably absent from the state party's annual Lincoln Days convention last weekend, where Schmitt, Hartzler and the rest of the potential Republican field gathered to network and publicize. The former governor instead traveled to Arizona, where he visited the ballot review that has been condemned by state and county officialsand promoted by Trump and his supporters.
Background: Former Gov. Eric Greitens announces run for Senate, brushing off past scandals
Background: Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt launches Senate bid to succeed Roy Blunt
Other prominent state Republicans, including Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe and former U.S. AttorneyTim Garrison have all said they would not run in 2022.
The Democratic field has seen less action in recent weeks, remaining stable with several announced candidates.
So far to declare areTim Shepard, an LGBTQ+ rights activist from Kansas City; former state Sen. Scott Sifton, who represented the southern St. Louis suburbs;Jewel Kelly, an Air Force veteran and self-proclaimed moderate; ; Spencer Toder, a startup owner; and Lucas Kunce, a Marine veteran.
Kunce earned traction on social media last week after debuting an ad targeting McCloskey, who he dubbed "Mansion Man" and said he would give McCloskey a firearms lesson if the attorney apologized to the protestershe pointed his weapon at last year.
The general election is expected to be an uphill battle for Democrats, who are running in a state whose electorate has increasingly voted Republican in recent years. Although Democrat Jason Kander lost to Bluntby less than 80,000 votes in 2016, recent high-profile elections— specifically State Auditor Nicole Galloway's nearly 17-point loss to Gov. Mike Parson last year — have illustrated increasing difficulty for the party to succeed statewide.
That difficulty could be compounded by a lack of nationally recognizable names on the Democratic bench who are open to jumping into the race. Galloway announced this month she would not run for re-election in any race next year. Kander, former U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill and Rep. Cori Bush from St. Louis have all said they would not run.
Who's still up in the air?
The Republican field is unlikely to stop at four;several other members of Missouri's congressional delegationhave expressed interest in the race.
Rep. Ann Wagner, the Second District Congresswoman representing the St. Louis suburbs, hired a former senior GOP official with ties to the Senate, Morning Consult reported. Rep. Billy Long, who represents the southwest Seventh District that includes Springfield,has expressed interest while emphasizing his early and steadfast support of Trump.
Rep. Jason Smith, who represents much of southern Missouri in the Eighth District, met last month with Trump and has made several recent appearances on Fox networks to discuss the election.
"I will put my conservative record ... up against anyone," Smith told Fox host Neil Cavuto in a June appearance. "And I'll also put my record of standing up for the America First agenda, supporting President Trump and not running away when things got tough."
If one or more of them enter the race, they too would leave open House seats in their wake, potentially resulting in a significant turnover for a Missouri delegation that has not seen an open House race since Smith's special election in 2013.
Sen. Dave Schatz, president pro tempore of the Missouri Senate, told the Missouri Independent in April he was "definitely considering" entering the race.
Although several of the most prominent Missouri Democrats have ruled out running, other potential candidates remain undecided, includingKansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and former Gov.Jay Nixon.
The Trump factor
It's impossible to ignore the constant presence of the former president in the race — he appears in photos with candidates on campaign websites, is name-checkedin speeches and TV hits and has been constantly courted by candidates.
Reps. Smith and Long both held fundraisers at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in April, and Smith visited him in New York City while hiring his 2020 campaign manager, Bill Stepien. Schmitt cites his record as having "defended President Trump," and Hartzler used his "Make America Great Again" slogan in her campaign launch speech. Greitens hired Kimberly Guifoyle, a former Trump adviser, as his campaign's national chair in April.
Despite having lost the Oval Office last year, Trump still holds significant sway within his party, and his endorsem*nt could change the landscape of the Republican primary election next August.
"I will say the President is going to be very involved in the MissouriSenate race and will make sure his person crosses the finish line," Smith said on Fox Business last week.
Galen Bacharier covers Missouri politics and government for the News-Leader. Contact him at gbacharier@gannett.com,(573) 219-7440 or on Twitter @galenbacharier.
