The fever surrounding former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens might finally be starting to break. Greitens had been leading a crowded field for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination despite the credible allegations of physical and sexual violence that drove him from the governor’s office four years ago. But after recent, additional allegations from his ex-wife, new polling shows Greitens has now slipped to second place.
It’s astonishing that more than a fifth of Republican poll respondents still say Greitens belongs in the Senate. But the fact that his star seems finally to be fading is an encouraging sign of some sanity returning to the GOP electorate.
Greitens, elected governor in 2016, resigned in disgrace two years later after allegations from his former hairdresser that he struck and abused her during their extramarital affair before he took office. Among her allegations was that he took a cellphone picture of her without her consent while she was restrained and partly nude, then threatened to publicize it if she revealed their affair. Greitens admitted to the affair while denying the abuse allegations, but he resigned in mid-2018 to avoid impeachment and prosecution.
