Republicans are anxious about former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, who resigned in 2018 amid a sex scandal and campaign finance inquiry, considering a political comeback.
In recent weeks, the Republican said he’s been mulling an entry into the 2022 Senate race, criticizing longtime Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, who announced his intention to retire last week.
“I am evaluating right now what I’m going to be doing this year,” Greitens said on the Marc Cox Morning Show earlier this month, disparaging Blunt over his public criticism of former President Donald Trump, who comfortably won Missouri in 2016 and 2020.
“The voters of Missouri deserve to have leaders in the U.S. Senate who are going to fight for them. Unfortunately, Roy Blunt has been out siding with Mitch McConnell, he’s been criticizing the [former] president of the United States over what happened on Jan. 6, he’s been criticizing the [former] president of the United States for not coming to Joe Biden’s inauguration,” Greitens said.
Such chatter has some GOP leaders, who view Greitens as damaged goods due to his reputation, concerned about retaining the Senate seat should Greitens run.
“Greitens is a clear and present danger to botching the race for the GOP,” Scott Reed, former senior political strategist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, told Politico.
Others say a potentially crowded primary may be challenging for the party and Greitens’s candidacy could prompt a pathway for a Democratic victory.
“The easiest way to give this seat to a Biden acolyte is to have a divisive Republican primary, followed by someone incredibly damaged like Eric Greitens being the candidate in the general election,” said Gregg Keller, a Missouri-based GOP strategist.
Charlie Dalton, executive director of the Missouri Republican Party, was hesitant to make any comment about candidates who have not yet announced for the open seat.
“The Missouri Republican Party is grateful that we have such a deep bench of strong conservatives that are willing to step forward and serve the people of Missouri. In August of next year, the voters will have to decide who they feel will best represent them in the Senate and we are looking forward to keeping Senator Blunt’s seat a Republican-held seat that November,” Dalton told the Washington Examiner.
Greitens, who has branded himself as a pro-Trump conservative in recent years, also faces a challenge in getting an endorsement by the former president, due to his past history with Sen. Josh Hawley, a vocal Trump ally.
Hawley, who was serving as Missouri’s attorney general during Greitens’s governorship, accused the governor of felonious behavior after his office investigated him over his usage of a charity donor list to solicit donations to aid his 2016 gubernatorial campaign.
Hawley was also among several Missouri politicians at the state and federal level who called for Greitens to step down after a state House committee found sexual misconduct allegations against Greitens to be credible.
In January 2018, Greitens’s hairstylist accused the governor of taking her to his basement, blindfolding her, binding her hands, and forcing her into performing oral sex. His accuser claimed Greitens took nude photos of her and threatened to release them if she told anyone about the incident. The woman also testified to the committee that Greitens had slapped her, grabbed her, and called her degrading names.
Greitens confirmed he had an extramarital affair, but he denied allegations that he had blackmailed the woman or was violent with her.
At the time, Hawley referred to the conduct as impeachable but urged Greitens to resign instead.
“The conduct the Report details is certainly impeachable, in my judgment, and the House is well within its rights to proceed on that front. But the people of Missouri should not be put through that ordeal. Gov. Greitens should resign immediately,” Hawley said in 2018.
Greitens resigned as part of a deal reached with St. Louis prosecutors, who agreed to dismiss unrelated charges against the governor over campaign finance violations.
Since ousting two-term Democrat Claire McCaskill in 2018, Hawley has become known as a conservative firebrand and one of Trump’s fiercest allies, especially after he spearheaded the push to object to the certification of electoral votes for the 2020 election on Jan. 6.
Hawley was one of few lawmakers who stood by his decision, even after several other Republicans who had vowed to object changed their mind after the U.S. Capitol was breached by pro-Trump rioters. Five people, including a U.S. Capitol Police officer, died during or shortly after the riot.
Trump has already been in discussions with Hawley about candidates to replace Blunt’s seat, according to Punchbowl News.
Other names floated for consideration include Rep. Ann Wagner, who represents the St. Louis suburbs, and current state Attorney General Eric Schmitt. Both have remained fierce supporters of the former president.
