Former President Donald Trump on the eve of the Missouri primary gave his much-coveted support to the Republican primaries for the open Missouri Senate seat, but there was some confusion as to who had been selected.
“I trust the Great People of Missouri, in this case, to make up their minds, as they did when they gave me landslide victories in the 2016 and 2020 elections, and so I am proud to announce that ERIC has my full and complete. Total endorsement!” Trump wrote in a statement Monday night.
And with that, Trump apparently rejected anyone in the field of 19 not named Eric. There are two main candidates who share the first name: Attorney General Eric Schmitt and former Attorney General Eric Greitensand a candidate who follows them.
The semi-endorsement came as Schmitt has surged in recent polls, including one from Emerson College released in late July where he led Rep. Vicky Hartzler by 12 points. Greitens was third in that poll.
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Greitens, a controversial candidate who resigned in 2018 after a sex scandal and misuse of campaign funds, has fallen in the polls since June after outside groups spent more than $11 million on the airwaves to prevent him from winning the primaries and potentially. put this state up for grabs in the November general election.
Earlier this year, Greitens’ ex-wife also claimed he abused her and their son, allegations Greitens’ campaign has denied. Sheena Greitens he repeated the accusations on Twitter Monday.
Shortly after Trump’s statement, both Greitens and Schmitt claimed to have Trump’s full support.
“President Trump has looked at the candidates and everything at stake in this race, and he has given me his FULL AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT!” read a fundraising email from Schmitt’s campaign.
“Honored to have the support of President Trump! We will make MAGA!” Greitens tweeted. Greitens also has ties to Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle, and he he tweeted a video de Guilfoyle supporting him.
To complicate matters, there is a third Eric in the running: Eric McElroy. In a statement, Hartzler said “Congratulations to Eric McElroy. He’s having a great night.”
Trump said in July that he would not explicitly support Hartzler.
2022 mid-term elections
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