Republican contenders for an open Missouri Senate seat are elbowing for a position as former President Donald Trump, whose endorsement could crown a winner in the GOP primary, treads cautiously.
Former Gov. Eric Greitens is attempting to hire Kimberly Guilfoyle as his fundraiser, a move he presumably hopes nudges Trump in his direction. Guilfoyle, a top fundraiser for the former president’s 2020 campaign, is the girlfriend of Donald Trump Jr., whose endorsement also carries considerable weight in Republican primaries. Guilfoyle is free to take the job if she wishes, but doing so should not be interpreted as a tacit endorsement from Trump or his eldest son.
“The Greitens campaign is trying to hire Kim, but she hasn’t made up her mind yet on whether she’s going to accept a role with him,” a knowledgeable Republican source confirmed Thursday. “Kim’s work is independent of Don Jr., and he is currently not supporting him or anyone else in that race, yet. Even if Kim were to go work with Greitens, that should not be seen as an implicit endorsement from Don or his father.”
Greitens, 46, a retired Navy SEAL once viewed as a future presidential candidate, resigned as governor in 2018 amid fallout from a sexual misconduct scandal and to avoid possible impeachment by the Republican-controlled Missouri General Assembly. Greitens has aligned himself with Trump, claiming both were subject to unfair, politically motivated investigations while in office. Many Republicans reject the comparison, worrying that a Greitens nomination would put the seat being vacated by GOP Sen. Roy Blunt in jeopardy in 2022.
A Greitens spokesman did not respond to an email request for comment. The former governor has garnered endorsements from some Trumpworld figures and conservative media personalities.
Some Republicans are pinning their hopes on Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, 45, a pro-Trump Republican tied with Greitens in late March polling. Schmitt is well known and enjoys strong support in St. Louis, the state’s largest media market, and is free of the ethical baggage that could burden the former governor in a competitive general election campaign. Schmitt hired Jeff Roe, Missouri’s top Republican consultant, and is flexing his Trump bona fides on social media.
“I’ve stood up for President Trump and sued to protect the integrity of the last presidential election,” Schmitt said in his campaign announcement video, touching on a top issue for GOP primary voters — and for the former president. “As your United States senator, I’ll be a champion for the America First agenda.”
In a Remington poll of likely Republican primary voters conducted for Missouri Scout between March 24 and March 25, Greitens and Schmitt were virtually tied in a head-to-head matchup, with the former governor at 40%, the attorney general at 39%, and 21% undecided. In potential matchups with additional candidates, Greitens held a substantial lead every time, with Schmitt the only Republican within striking distance, although the data suggest that Greitens benefits from a crowded primary.
To negotiate a more favorable, one-on-one contest with Greitens, the Schmitt campaign is painting additional, possible entrants as “spoilers” who would virtually guarantee the party nominates a flawed candidate. Other than Greitens, only Schmitt can boast winning a statewide election, and he controls a robust, statewide political operation and donor base. And only the attorney general has the credibility to appeal simultaneously to the Trump, establishment, and traditional conservative wings of the GOP, his team claims.
Meanwhile, additional Republicans continue to mull jumping into the GOP Senate primary, ignoring warnings that a crowded primary equals a Greitens victory.
Rep. Ann Wagner, who represents a competitive, St. Louis-area suburban district, has tapped Ward Baker to lead her effort to explore a 2022 Senate bid. Baker has advised several prominent Senate campaigns and is a former executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Also mulling a campaign are Missouri Republican Reps. Vicky Hartzler, Billy Long, and Jason Smith.
Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, a pro-Trump Republican populist, has been conferring privately with the former president to game out the unfolding primary. If Hawley weighs in with an endorsement or announces his opposition to any particular candidate, he would only do so in unison with Trump, sources familiar with the senator’s deliberations said.
Trump won Missouri by 18.5 percentage points and 15.4 points, respectively, in 2016 and 2020, solidifying the state’s transformation from perennial bellwether to ruby-red bastion with a grassroots Republican base that is very supportive of the 45th president. That offers Trump an opportunity to exert outsize influence in the primary, with the winner being well positioned to defeat the Democratic nominee.
Gregg Keller, a Republican operative in Missouri, said that theory of the case is true — up to a point. A Greitens nomination, he warned, “is the only scenario that endangers Republicans holding the seat.”
