Field of possible GOP Senate candidates forms within hours of Blunt’s announcement
U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt’s announcement Monday that he won’t seek re-election in 2022 sent Missouri Republicans scrambling as the party braced for a wide-open primary contest that could feature a former federal prosecutor, a former governor and multiple statewide officeholders.
Surprise at the two-term senator’s decision quickly gave way to an acknowledgment that Republicans could end up with a sprawling primary field as the number of prominent figures considering the race grew throughout the day.
An array of Republicans — from Rep. Ann Wagner to Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft to former Gov. Eric Greitens — are keeping the door open to running.
Democrats are also preparing for the possibility of their own primary battle after Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said he is considering a run. The prospect of a drawn-out intra-party fight among Republicans is raising hopes among Democrats that they could be more competitive after several cycles of GOP dominance.
Blunt would have likely retained the Republican nomination if he ran. But the open primary now means a high-stakes contest to define the Missouri GOP in the wake of Donald Trump’s presidency.
Missouri voters handed Trump a 15-point victory in November, and he could play a pivotal role in the primary if he chooses to endorse. Since leaving office, the former president has begun issuing endorsements in 2022 Senate races, beginning with backing Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas.
Former Gov. Eric Greitens, an ardent Trump supporter who resigned in 2018 amid allegations of violent sexual misconduct, said last week he had been weighing a primary challenge to Blunt.
Tim Garrison, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri for most of the Trump administration, said he had been approached about running.
“I think I’m going to keep my powder dry for the moment,” Garrison told The Star. “I may have more to say a little bit later.”
Garrison was the Western District’s top prosecutor from April 2018 until February 28. He helped lead Operation LeGend, which brought a wave of federal law enforcement into Kansas City last summer amid record-setting homicide numbers.
A former prosecutor in the Marines, Garrison joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2007 and worked there until Trump nominated him. The Senate confirmed him unanimously.
Since stepping down, Garrison has made several public comments critical of Greitens.
“Will the panel convened to roast Gov. Cuomo’s sexual harassment allegations also discuss Resigned Gov. Greitens’ sexual assault allegations, or are we moving on from that?” Garrison tweeted on Friday in response to a video teasing an upcoming interview with Greitens on the conservative One America News Network.
Greitens didn’t immediately comment on Blunt’s announcement and a spokesman didn’t respond to questions. But the former governor has come close to signaling a run.
In an interview last week with St. Louis radio station 97.1 FM, Greitens said he was “certainly going to keep the door open to and take a look at” a candidacy.
Greitens defeated Democrat Chris Koster by 5.5 points in the 2016 race for governor. But he spent much of his time in office ensnared in scandal and resigned in 2018 as the General Assembly moved toward impeaching him.
A campaign would mark an audacious political comeback attempt for Greitens, who currently hosts a show on a right-wing TV network. His record of scandal would be easy fodder for GOP competitors and Democrats in the general election.
Still, Republicans say the former governor has enough supporters to make him competitive.
“The governor would have support anywhere around the state and would be viable in a Republican primary,” said James Harris, a Jefferson City-based Republican consultant.
GOP officials consider options
Other more conventional, if lower-profile, names may soon be in the mix. Statewide officeholders issued statements Monday praising Blunt while also making clear they are considering campaigns.
Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, former majority leader in the state Senate, said he and his wife “intend to spend some time talking with family, friends and supporters about how I can best contribute to the future of our great state.”
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, the son of former Gov. and Sen. John Ashcroft, said he and his wife “will be praying and talking to friends and family about how best I can serve the state of Missouri.”
Jean Evans, a former director of the Missouri GOP and a political consultant, said “election integrity” will be a focus in the primary, potentially giving Ashcroft an edge. Many Republicans have been pushing for voting restrictions in the wake of the 2020 election and Ashcroft supports reinstating voter ID rules struck down by the Missouri Supreme Court.
“How they choose to phrase that, I don’t know,” Evans said. “But I think election integrity is a big issue and a there’s a lot of moves at the national level to circumvent state-level election integrity.”
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, who backed the failed Texas lawsuit to overturn the 2020 election, said in a statement that he is considering a run for the Senate seat.
“With the radical left controlling all the levers of power in Washington, D.C., now more than ever Missouri needs strong conservative leadership in the U.S. Senate to protect our values. I have been receiving significant encouragement from supporters across the state to consider running for U.S. Senate,” Schmitt said. “I will continue talking with supporters, my family and praying about how I might best continue serving Missouri.”
Schmitt became attorney general after his GOP predecessor, Josh Hawley, was elected to the Senate in 2018.
Blunt’s retirement also raises the possibility a member of Congress will make a bid for the seat.
St. Louis area Rep. Ann Wagner, former state GOP chair and a prolific fundraiser, laid the groundwork for a Senate run in 2018, but abandoned the plan after party leaders coalesced around Hawley.
“While the Second District is home, I have been proud to work throughout Missouri prior to my time in public service and am humbled by the outpouring of encouragement from folks across our great state today,” Wagner said. “I take their outreach seriously, and plan to discuss with my family what the future holds for me in the coming days.”
One of the factors that hurt Wagner in 2018 could still be an issue in 2022: Trump. Party leaders in 2018 were worried that Wagner was weak with Trump’s base after she rescinded her endorsement in the 2016 campaign following the release of the infamous Access Hollywood tape.
Four years later, Wagner was the only Missouri Republican in Congress — besides Blunt — to oppose Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Representatives for Wagner did not immediately respond to questions Monday.
Kansas City area Rep. Vicky Hartzler, a Republican, briefly contemplated a 2018 run, but she did not pursue one. She could reconsider in 2022.
“We’ll sit down at some point and look at what her options are,” said Nathan Adams, Hartzler’s campaign manager.
But Adams stressed that the focus of the day should remain on Blunt rather than his potential successors. Hartzler was the first member of the congressional delegation to release a statement honoring Blunt.
“As he announces his intention to not seek reelection in 2022, it is clear Roy will be sorely missed not only in the Show Me State, but across our nation,” Hartzler said.
For his part, Blunt predicted that the rapidly expanding field of potential candidates will eventually slim down.
“I will say that talking about public office is a lot easier than ultimately running for public office. The only thing easier than talking about running for office is criticizing the person currently in office,” said Blunt, likely making a reference to Greitens routinely attacking him on social media in recent weeks.
Lucas weighs Democratic bid
As a wide array of Republicans weigh campaigns, the Democratic race may also soon intensify. Lucas, the first-term Kansas City mayor, said he was considering a bid.
“I rise each day thinking about how I can best serve the people of Kansas City and Missouri, and I will consider over the next several weeks whether that is in a statewide position—something no African American has ever done,” Lucas said in a statement.
State Sen. Brian Williams, a University City Democrat, also floated a potential run. Both Lucas and Williams would make history as the first African American to win a statewide race in Missouri if they ran and won.
Lucas Kunce, a Marine veteran who lives in Independence, officially launched his campaign Tuesday with a platform focused on economic populism.
“My parents weren’t minimum wage workers and we were still one disaster away from going bankrupt,” Kunce told The Star, explaining that his younger sister’s medical bills caused his family to go bankrupt when he was 8.
Kunce will be officially endorsed Wednesday by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a national group closely aligned with Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Two other Democrats had launched their campaigns prior to Blunt’s announcement: former state Sen. Scott Sifton, who represented the St. Louis suburbs during his decade in the Missouri General Assembly, and Kansas City activist Timothy Shepard, who is running on an anti-establishment platform and would be the first openly gay federal lawmaker from Missouri.
While the Democratic field could expand, some high-profile names quickly took themselves out of the running, including former Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander, who came within 3 percentage points of winning the seat in 2016. Kander, now the president of the Veterans Community Project, said he’s happy with his current job.
The Star’s Jeanne Kuang and Glenn Rice contributed reporting
This story was originally published March 8, 2021 at 6:14 PM with the headline "Field of possible GOP Senate candidates forms within hours of Blunt’s announcement."
