Eric Greitens tries to win over Missouri GOP voters after scandals, #Eric #Greitens #Win #Missouris #GOP #voters #scandals Welcome to OLASMEDIA TV NEWSThis is what we have for you today:
KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Four Years and Two Months Later
Eric Greitens
The 48-year-old Republican, who resigned as governor of Missouri disgraced by assault charges, stood before voters in a town hall and asked them to send him to the US Senate.
Greitens, who faces a new raft of allegations that he physically assaulted his former wife and their children, told the crowd sipping “Red Rhino” drink specials that he was the victim of a conspiracy. He blamed the Republican Senate leader
Mitch McConnell
of Kentucky and other alleged enemies in Washington, DC, for trying to scuttle his political comeback.
“Anyone who has a TV or radio knows where all of McConnell and all the RINOs are. It’s very clear: everyone except Greitens,” said Mr. Greitens, while blaming the so-called Republicans in name only for negative ads highlighting the abuse allegations, which were seen as contributing to his recent fall in opinion polls. “And why? Why is it someone other than Greitens for them? Because what they know is that nothing will change with all my other opponents.”
“Correct!” shouted a man in the audience. Angry murmurs rippled across the room.
In the closing days of one of the country’s most hotly contested primaries, Mr Greitens’ Senate bid is testing whether an unnamed Republican disrupter
Donald Trump
can take advantage of the grassroots mistrust of mainstream institutions and the party establishment to overcome a series of scandals and win the party’s nomination.
Mr Greitens, who has fallen in recent opinion polls, visited a restaurant in Hayti, Mo., on Friday.
Photo:
Brad Vest for The Wall Street Journal
Mr. McConnell has refused to publicly participate in the Missouri primaries for Tuesday, saying voters in the state will have to decide for themselves.
Mr Greitens’ biggest rivals in the race are the Missouri Attorney General
Eric Schmitt
and US Rep.
Vicky Hartzler,
representing the western central part of the state. Both Mr. Schmitt and Ms. Hartzler run as pro-Trump conservatives who say they are sure of the general election. They dismissed Mr Greitens as an unacceptable candidate who could cost the party a crucial Senate seat, currently occupied by Republicans.
Roy Blunt,
who is retiring.
Michael Koop, an engineer in his fifties from Independence, Mo., came to City Hall indecisively on Monday, with nagging concerns about Mr. Greitens. “I need more convincing with him. Because, you know, his background is kind of fuzzy,” Mr. Koop said.
But he said he was impressed by Mr. Greitens – in which he railed against crime, illegal immigration and US funding for Ukraine – and shared the former governor’s antipathy towards Mr. McConnell.
“It’s just so confusing,” Mr. Koop said, still torn as the event ended. “But I would be happy if he won.”
Other Missouri Republicans say they are appalled at Mr Greitens. Scott Axon, a mid-60s business broker from Springfield, Mo., called Mr. Greitens’ candidacy embarrassing.
“We don’t want that kind of representation,” said his wife, Julie Axon, a real estate agent.
Mr Greitens was on the brink of impeachment in 2018 when he stepped down as governor following allegations that he *had his hairdresser in his basement, forced her into an act* and took a half-naked photo of her to prevent her from having their affair would reveal. He was also accused of campaign finance inaccuracies. Mr Greitens admitted to the affair but denied the other charges and was never convicted of a crime.
Sheena Greitens, the former first lady of Missouri, in green, has made allegations of domestic violence against Mr Greitens as part of a child custody dispute.
Photo:
Don Shrubshell/Columbia Daily Tribune/Associated Press
Mr Greitens has also denied the allegations of domestic violence in an affidavit filed in March by
Sheena Greitens,
Missouri’s former first lady, as part of a custody dispute.
“People are smart. They saw through the lies, okay?” Mr Greitens told voters at town hall on Monday when asked about the abuse allegations. He compared it to what he called the Democrats’ “Trump-Russia collusion hoax,” a reference to the Special Council investigation that found links between Moscow and the Trump campaign, but revealed no conspiracy between the two. .
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Mr Greitens led the Republican primaries in most polls until recently when… a new political group, Show Me Values, began broadcasting advertisements describing the allegations of domestic violence. Led by Johnny DeStefano, who served as a top aide in Trump’s White House, the super PAC has spent more than $7.9 million on Mr Greitens, according to the nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics.
A July 21-23 survey by Emerson College Polling/The Hill of highly likely primary voters found that Mr Greitens lost 10 points since June, placing him in third place with 16% of the vote.
Mr. Schmitt was in first place with 33% in the Emerson poll, followed by Ms. Hartzler with 21%. Other Republican candidates in the race include U.S. Rep.
Billy Long,
St. Louis Attorney Mark McCloskey and Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz.
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, a top rival of Greitens, is running for Senate as a pro-Trump conservative.
Photo:
Al Drago/Bloomberg News
Since Missouri has no primaries, a candidate in a busy race doesn’t need a majority to win.
Greitens’ Republican critics warn that his nomination could open the door for Democrats, who are fighting to retain control of the 50-50 Senate. Former President Trump won Missouri by more than 18 percentage points in 2016 and about 15 points in 2020, reflecting the state’s shift to the right in recent elections.
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The frontrunners in the Democratic primary are Navy veteran Lucas Kunce and Anheuser-Busch heir Trudy Busch Valentine.
Democrats are careful with their chances. Democratic state representative Crystal Quade, leader of the minority floor, said a victory for Democrats across the state would be difficult at this point. But she said Mr Greitens as the GOP nominee would enrage some voters over the Supreme Court ruling ending abortion rights.
“The allegations against him go hand in hand with the frustrations surrounding Roe .’s overthrow [v. Wade] and just the constant assault on our bodies and our safety,” said Ms Quade.
Roy Temple, a longtime Democratic media consultant in Missouri who works for Mrs. Busch Valentine, cast Mr. Greitens as a Frankenstein monster that the Republican Party created and is now frantically trying to destroy.
Mr Greitens campaigned in Hayti, Mo., after a survey of highly likely primary voters found he has fallen 10 points since June.
Photo:
Brad Vest for The Wall Street Journal
“There’s no mechanism that can say to a man like him, ‘You’re destroying our brand, get out.’ He doesn’t have to listen to anyone,” Mr. Temple said. “And some people may applaud that. But there’s a danger in that too. Because he could win.”
Les Overall, a 74-year-old retiree from Billings, Mo., said he wasn’t sure what to believe. He was deciding between Mr Greitens and Mr Schmitt, who called the charges against Mr Greitens “unforgivable” at a meeting Mr. Overall attended in Springfield, Mo., on Saturday.
“I thought if people don’t like you in politics, they’ll make all kinds of accusations for all kinds of motivations, and they’ll even push the family to go against you,” said Mr. Overall. “I don’t know. It could be true. I just don’t know.”
A wild card is Mr Trump, who has not supported anyone in the race. Mr. Trump released a statement in early July saying he was against Ms. Hartzler because she “didn’t have what it takes” to win.
In an interview that aired on One America News Network the same day, Mr. Trump said Mr. Greitens is “the one the Democrats legitimately want to fight.” But he praised Mr Greitens as tough and smart. “A little controversial, but I’ve supported controversial people before,” Trump said. “So we’ll see what happens.”
Last week, the former president met with Mr. Schmitt in Washington. While some advisers continue to urge him to stay out of the primaries, Mr Trump has noted Mr Schmitt’s recent lead and is leaning towards an endorsement, according to a person familiar with the talks.
US Representative Vicky Hartzler, who is seeking the Senate seat, considers Mr Greitens an unacceptable candidate.
Photo:
Lindsay Wise/The Wall Street Journal
At a campaign event for Ms. Hartzler at a church in Springfield, Mo., on a recent Sunday, retired science teacher Steven Johnson, age 65, told Ms. Hartzler that he had voted for Mr. Trump, but he was not happy about criticism from the former president on her.
“Yeah, that was a surprise because I voted with him 95% of the time,” said Ms. Hartzler.
Mr Johnson said that even if Mr Greitens wins the nomination, he will not vote for him in the November general election. “I’d just leave it blank,” he said. “He has a lot of spots, a lot of baggage that these other candidates don’t have.”
—Alex Leary contributed to this article.
Write to Lindsay Wise at [email protected]
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