U.S. Senate Race
By Don Bradley
The race to succeed Roy Blunt has had some drama.
Eric Schmitt, currently the Missouri attorney general, came out of a crowded Republican primary field which included two sitting members of congress, a disgraced former governor and a candidate who got national air time after pointing a gun at protesters following the police killing of George Floyd.
Schmitt will take on Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine, an heiress to the Anheuser Busch beer family. Her August primary lacked the characters but was still crowded.
Paul Venable of the Constitution Party and Libertarian Jonathan Dine are also on the ballot.
Schmitt was appointed to the attorney general job in 2018 by Gov. Mike Parson after Josh Hawley won election to the state’s other senate seat. Schmitt previously served in the state senate and as state treasurer.
During the primary, Schmitt embraced Trumpian politics and filed lawsuits against the federal government.
“I have taken a blowtorch to Biden’s unconstitutional and unlawful policies to protect the America First Agenda,” Schimitt said in a statement.
He also sued multiple Missouri school districts over Covid protocols.
Schmitt sought Trump’s endorsement which did not come.
Bush Valentine, who worked as a nurse, says she wants to fight the opioid epidemic, improve access to health care and advocate for women’s rights.
She also criticizes the state of politics in general and Missouri politics specifically.
“Too often neighbors and families stop talking to each other and the politicians in Washington continue to divide us further,” she said.