JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Republican Attorney General Eric Schmitt was declared the winner of Missouri’s U.S. Senate race shortly after 9 p.m. Tuesday, beating Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine.
A crowd of about 250 Schmitt supporters gathered at the Sheraton Westport Chalet in Maryland Heights erupted in applause when Fox News called the race for Schmitt. The Associated Press called the race for Schmitt at 9:12 p.m.
With 39% of votes reported, Schmitt was leading Valentine 55% to 43%, according to the New York Times.
While Valentine posted large leads in the state’s cities, her winning margin began to evaporate as tallies rolled in from rural counties.
In St. Louis County, with 57% of votes reported, Valentine was winning 62% of the vote. In the city of St. Louis, she took 84% of the vote with a third of votes tallied shortly after 9 p.m., according to the New York Times.
Schmitt notched wide leads in rural counties. He was winning 86% of the vote in Bollinger County, 80% of the vote in Dent County, and 78% of the vote in Oregon County, the Times reported shortly after 9 p.m.
During the campaign, Schmitt focused on inflation and courted voters wary of COVID-19 restrictions. He cast Valentine — an heir to the Anheuser-Busch fortune — as a “limousine liberal” who was out-of-touch with the struggles voters faced.
Valentine focused on protecting abortion rights and said she would be “nobody’s senator but yours.”
She blasted Schmitt for signing off on the state’s near-total abortion ban.
Valentine also criticized Schmitt's support for allowing foreign ownership of farmland in Missouri — taking a page from Schmitt’s opponents in the GOP primary.
Schmitt will replace retiring U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., in the Senate.
Political forecasters didn’t consider Missouri’s race competitive, reflecting the state’s position as a deep-red bastion.
That left the focus on contests in other states: Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Hampshire and Georgia.
The party that doesn’t control the White House historically gains ground in Congress during the midterm elections.
Reflecting the Democrats’ precarious position, races in Colorado and Washington — both considered blue states — were both classified as tossups prior to the election by Real Clear Politics.
In Columbia, Darin Preis, a 52-year-old nonprofit administrator, said he voted for Valentine in the Senate race.
“I think that Eric Schmitt has just veered way too far right,” Preis said. “I think he was appealing to Trump voters and that’s just not where I am.”
Shrewsbury resident David Oswald, 80, said he has met Schmitt a few times. He voted for the Republican.
“Until they control the border and stop printing money, I’m mad at all of them,” he said of congressional Democrats.
He called Schmitt “solid, hardworking and dedicated” and said he was a “great family man,” citing the Missouri attorney general’s son with special needs. Oswald said he, too, has a grandchild with special needs.
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(Jacob Barker and Joe Holleman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.)
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