‘Showed us who he is.’ Former Missouri state senator opens bid to unseat Blunt in 2022
A former Missouri state senator has launched a campaign to unseat incumbent Republican Sen. Roy Blunt in 2022 with an ad that opens with an image of Missouri’s other senator.
The ad, from Democrat Scott Sifton, begins with the photograph of Republican Sen. Josh Hawley raising fist in solidarity to a crowd of former President Donald Trump’s supporters before the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol and ties the image to Blunt, who is up for re-election in 2022.
“When he raised his fist and betrayed our democracy, Josh Hawley showed us who he really is. And when Sen. Blunt was too weak to stand up to his party’s lies, he showed us who he is, too,” Sifton states in the voiceover of the ad.
“I believe in a Missouri where we raise our hands to support voting rights, not violent insurrection,” he adds.
Blunt, the No. 4 Republican in the Senate, opposed Hawley’s effort to overturn the presidential election, but he waited until the Electoral College’s Dec. 14 certification to acknowledge Joe Biden’s status as president-elect.
Blunt also made statements throughout November that treated the election outcome as uncertain as Trump refused to concede the election and litigated the results in court.
“The president wasn’t defeated by huge numbers. In fact, he may not have been defeated at all,” Blunt said on Nov. 10.
Blunt’s team declined to comment on Sifton’s ad.
Sifton’s focus on Hawley is an attempt to unofficially put him and his behavior on the ballot in 2022. Early polling data shows Hawley’s approval rating has fallen sharply with Missouri voters since last year.
But Missouri Republicans also want to keep Hawley at the forefront as both he and Trump remain immensely popular with the party’s base. The state party sent out a fundraising email Friday that implored recipients to donate money to defend the junior senator, warning that “the Left has been relentlessly trying to ‘cancel’ Josh Hawley.”
Hawley won’t be up for re-election until 2024, so any money donated to the party this year would be more likely to go toward defending Blunt next year.
Blunt’s 2016 contest with former Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander was decided by less than 3 percentage points as both parties poured millions into the state, but it’s unclear whether the 2022 contest will receive a similar national focus.
Republicans dominated statewide races from 2016 to 2020 — losing only the 2018 race for state auditor as they racked up wins in Senate and gubernatorial races. The University of Virginia’s Center for Politics rates Blunt’s seat as a safe Republican hold on its Crystal Ball website.
Democrats face an uncertain path back to statewide relevance after Auditor Nicole Galloway, the party’s only statewide officeholder, lost her race for governor by double digits in 2020.
Galloway, who is up for re-election as auditor in 2022, endorsed Sifton immediately upon his campaign announcement.
“Scott knows how to run and win a campaign focused on working families. He’s taken on corruption, fought against so-called right-to-work, supported healthcare expansion and strengthening public schools. I fully support him leading our 2022 statewide ticket,” Galloway said on Twitter.
Sifton grew up in Kansas City, a fact he notes in his ad, but has spent most of his adult life in the St. Louis area.
The 46-year-old attorney served two years in the Missouri House and eight years in the Missouri Senate, representing a portion of St. Louis County before his most recent term ended in January.
He worked in the Missouri attorney general’s office early in his legal career and briefly ran for the office in 2016, but withdrew before the primary.
Sifton’s run had been anticipated for weeks and his Twitter endorsement from Galloway likely cements him as the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination. Kander, Blunt’s 2016 opponent, has ruled out a rematch.
But the bigger political threat to Blunt might be a primary challenge from the right.
Former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, appearing last week on the right-wing cable channel Newsmax, gave an evasive answer about whether he had plans to challenge Blunt. But he attacked the senator “for criticizing President Trump” and “embracing Joe Biden.”
Greitens resigned the governorship in 2018 in the face of multiple scandals, including allegations of sexual coercion and blackmail, but he retains a loyal following among a wing of the party. He has repeatedly hinted at a political comeback.
This story was originally published February 8, 2021 at 10:33 AM with the headline "‘Showed us who he is.’ Former Missouri state senator opens bid to unseat Blunt in 2022."
