But she knows whom she’s not voting for.
In conversations with about 45 Missourians across the state, mostly Republicans, some said they were sticking by Greitens, and even those who weren’t expressed skepticism about the allegations. But the majority said they had issues with the candidate, ranging from “his baggage” to the fact that he was a “quitter” for resigning as governor.
Those frustrations with Greitens have cleared lanes in the GOP primary for US Rep. Vicky Hartzler and state Attorney General Eric Schmitt, who have spent the final days of the race going after one another, with China a frequent flashpoint.
With no runoff rules in Missouri, all it takes is a plurality to win. The Democrats have their own crowded field, but it’s the GOP primary that will determine just how competitive this race will be in November.
Voters’ complicated relationship with Greitens
Temperatures lingering above 100 degrees didn’t stop southwest Missouri’s GOP faithful from setting up their lawn chairs Tuesday evening in Neosho to nibble on watermelon and hear two hours’ worth of speeches from candidates up and down the ticket, although Hartzler and McCloskey were the only Senate contenders to show up.
As governor in 2018, he faced calls for impeachment from the GOP-controlled state legislature and a criminal charge — invasion of privacy — related to the affair, which he admitted to while refuting the claim of blackmail. The former Navy SEAL was separately charged with another felony — tampering with computer data — for allegedly misusing a veterans charity’s donor list for his 2016 gubernatorial campaign.
The criminal charges were later dropped. And a former FBI agent investigating the blackmail allegations was later indicted for perjury and tampering with physical evidence. A Missouri ethics panel found “no evidence of any wrongdoing” by Greitens in its investigation of campaign misconduct, although it fined his campaign for not reporting in-kind contributions. The GOP-led state House investigation into the sexual misconduct allegations ultimately led to his resignation.
“It was the thing that I had to do for the people who I love the most, particularly for my boys,” Greitens told CNN in February.
“It’s a black eye for Missouri,” 42-year-old Matt Fischer, a Schmitt supporter, said at a rally for the attorney general at Tropical Liqueurs South in Columbia on Wednesday, adding that Greitens has already made “the state look bad.”
“I would have (considered Greitens) if he hadn’t had all of his baggage,” 68-year-old Debbie Brewer said at the Ozark Distillery and Brewery in Osage Beach after attending events for both Schmitt and Hartzler on Wednesday. “We don’t need that distraction.”
Show Me Values PAC has spent more than $6 million against Greitens, according to AdImpact data through Friday.
“Somebody had to do something. Neither Hartzler or Schmitt were laying a glove on him, and he was going to win,” said a Missouri Republican strategist who’s unaffiliated in the primary.
Still, there are degrees of skepticism among some voters about the allegations against Greitens. While some chalked up the most recent ones to an ugly divorce, others suggested, without evidence, that they were “just things being thrown at him” by political opponents, as one woman at the Watermelon Feed in Neosho put it.
“He got a raw deal when he was governor,” 72-year-old Charlie Henry said as he unloaded a case of Busch beer outside the Blue Springs Walmart.
Troy Pierson, 42, of Seneca, said at the Watermelon Feed that he was leaning toward Greitens in the primary but has some reservations over the candidate’s 2018 resignation: “Him doing that makes you wonder whether or not he will stand up and fight, which is a concern, because that’s what we need.”
Disappointment with Greitens for resigning is a familiar refrain, and it’s one Schmitt has made a big part of his closing argument.
“He abused his wife and his kid — assaulted his child — and he quit on Missouri,” Schmitt said at his Columbia rally. “This man is a quitter. And when going gets tough, he got going.”
The threat of last-minute Trump involvement
While the politicians at the Watermelon Feed name-dropped Trump onstage, a life-size cardboard cutout of the former President was notably not front and center but tucked away next to the information tent, where filing out a “straw quiz” qualified you to win South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s book, a $10 Chick-fil-A gift card or .22 ammo.
Trump had previously praised Senate hopeful Billy Long, the congressman who represents much of southwest Missouri, but stopped short of an endorsement. The former President came out with a statement earlier this month saying he would not back Hartzler — a surprise to the six-term lawmaker, who boasts in her stump speech that Twitter has suspended her campaign account for her comments about keeping transgender athletes out of women’s sports.
But her lack of support from Trump didn’t seem to concern GOP voters, even those who haven’t made up their minds. “I thought, well, yeah, because they’re not the same kind of people. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t get things done,” said Trump voter Allison Lupo, 56, who praised Hartzler’s “quiet strength” as she sipped on a drink in a Schmitt koozie at his Columbia rally.
Schmitt’s opening line channels the kind of anti-establishment energy Trump cultivated in Washington. “I get up in the morning and go to work. I sue Joe Biden, I go home, and then I get up the next day and do all that over again.” It goes over well with his crowds, especially those who think Hartzler has been in DC too long, even if they like her as their congresswoman.
“I know the President is considering an endorsement. I’d love to have it,” Schmitt told reporters Wednesday in Columbia. He added that he wouldn’t support Mitch McConnell for Senate leader — an appeal to Trump and his base, who dislike the Kentucky Republican — and would instead like to see Sens. Ted Cruz or Mike Lee, both of whom have endorsed Schmitt, run.
Democrats vie for a chance at an uphill battle
The selfie line after Marine veteran Lucas Kunce’s 7 p.m. rally on Wednesday moved so slowly that it was dark by the time the last voters had left the outdoor amphitheater in Columbia.
The Marine veteran is running a populist campaign, on the premise that a Democrat like him can win Missouri by picking off enough voters in rural areas to narrow Republican margins.
“He seems like he’s, you know, down-home people like us,” said Linda Evans, 72, as she was coming out of the Walmart in Blue Springs.
But Kunce has strong primary competition from Trudy Busch Valentine, an heir to the beer fortune, who entered the race late and had invested more than $5 million of her own money through July 28.
“Even though she comes from the Anheuser Busch family, it seems that she has a commonsense approach to what our needs are right now,” said 59-year-old Becky Wenzel of Dearborn, while sitting at the Ozark Distillery near her family’s weekend house.
Not all voters share that view.
“Busch comes from money, so she wouldn’t be a good choice,” said John Gaskey, 68, of Gladstone who was vacationing in Lake Ozark.
Valentine, who just scored the endorsement of the St. Louis mayor, pushed back on that criticism, saying in a phone interview with CNN on Thursday, “There is no vote I can buy.”
“I don’t think it is, with the two of them in there, splitting the vote,” Kunce said, previewing a potential fall race with Schmitt and Wood. “I mean, you got their little civil war, you know, the country club Republicans versus the Trump side. It’ll be quite the adventure.”
