Eric Schmitt has been endorsed by a top Donald Trump loyalist, a fresh salvo in the race for the Republican nomination for Senate in Missouri that is above all a competition to win the backing of the former president.
On Monday, the state attorney general unveiled the endorsement of Matthew Whitaker, former acting attorney general in the Trump administration. Schmitt is locked in a primary battle with former Gov. Eric Greitens, who made a play for Trump’s endorsement by hiring Kimberly Guilfoyle, a top fundraiser for his 2020 campaign; and Rep. Billy Long, who tapped Kellyanne Conway, his former senior aide in the White House, to advise his campaign.
In case it was not obvious that Whitaker’s endorsement was all about convincing Republican primary voters that Schmitt is running as an heir to Trump, his statement, issued by the state attorney general’s campaign, makes that fact abundantly clear.
“In President Trump’s Justice Department, we knew we could count on Eric Schmitt to support law and order, law enforcement and the rule of law,” Whitaker said.
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“As a top law enforcement official in the Trump administration,” Whitaker added, “I saw firsthand his commitment to keeping Missourians safe by taking action to fight violent crime, backing our police with resources and support, and establishing unprecedented cooperation between law enforcement agencies to protect and serve our communities. Eric Schmitt has my full support.”
Trump has rolled out several 2022 endorsements in competitive Republican primaries for the House and the Senate. But the former president has yet to signal his intentions in Missouri, where some in the party worry that a Greitens nomination would give the Democrats a fighting chance to win the general election in an otherwise very red state.
Sen. Roy Blunt, the incumbent Republican, is retiring.
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Other Republican candidates include Mark McCloskey, a gun rights activist and attorney, and Rep. Vicky Hartzler. The congresswoman brings to the table strong conservative credentials — and she is the only high-profile woman in the primary.
Hartzler’s consulting team advises Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, a darling of grassroots conservatives.
