Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt won the Republican Senate primary on Tuesday after former president Donald Trump simply endorsed “Eric”, which is also the first name of one of his opponents.
Mr Schmitt beat disgraced former governor Eric Greitens, as well as conservative activist Mark McCloskey and Representatives Vicky Hartzler and Billy Long.
Mr Trump declined to throw his support behind a specific candidate in the race and announced on Monday his support for “Eric”, after which both candidates celebrated his endorsement.
“I trust the Great People of Missouri, on this one, to make up their own minds, much as they did when they gave me landslide victories in the 2016 and 2020 Elections, and I am therefore proud to announce that ERIC has my Complete and Total Endorsement!” Mr Trump said in a statement.
Mr Schmitt will head to the general election, where he is likely to win given how the former bellwether state has become reliably Republican in recent years. He would replace retiring Republican Senator Roy Blunt.
Many Republicans worried that Mr Greitens could cost Republicans the seat. The former governor resigned in 2018 after he faced allegations that he reportedly tied a woman to an exercise machine, stripping her clothes off, blindfolding her and then snapping an explicit photo. He has denied any wrongdoing.
After he left office, Mr Greitens became a regular fixture in right-wing media before announcing his Senate race. However, his ex-wife Sheena alleged that Mr Greitens abused her and their children. Mr Greitens denied the charges and alleged that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Republican strategist Karl Rove plotted to bring him down.
Conversely, Senator Josh Hawley, who said that Mr Greitens should be in jail for abuse, endorsed Ms Hartzler.
But the former president said explicitly that he would not endorse Ms Hartzler, who called him “unpresidential” for his role in the January 6 riot, despite voting to object to the 2020 presidential election results.
