Former Missouri Republican Governor Eric Greitens, who resigned in 2018 amid sexual misconduct and campaign funding allegations, announced on Monday that he is running for the Senate next year.
Presenting himself as a “fighter” and a strong supporter of former President Donald Trump, Greitens revealed his campaign during an interview with Fox News. He took advantage of his time as a Navy SEAL and at the governor’s mansion while discrediting the charges that led him to resign.
“I was honored to serve the people of Missouri as governor. We took over the system, we killed a politician’s salary increase, we ended up with a corrupt tax credit program. And when the antifa arrived in Missouri, we stood side by side with police and were able to restore law and order and defeat the antifa, “he said.
“The people of Missouri need a fighter in the United States Senate, they need someone to go, as I will, as I am committed to doing, to defend President Trump’s policies for America in the first place and also to protect the the Missouri people of Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer’s radical leftist agenda. ”
Once seen as one of the Republican Party’s rising stars, Greitens won the governor’s mansion in the 2016 election for supporting his appeal as a stranger and a veteran. But, about a year after his term began, his reputation has been shaken by growing scandals.
A woman Greitens later admitted to having an extramarital affair with accused him of taking a picture of her naked without her consent, and told state investigators that he assaulted her. Prosecutors initially accused him of an invasion of privacy related to the episode, but the charge was dropped.
Greitens was also accused of improper campaign financing at the same time. He was accused of being related to that investigation, but it was also shelved. In a 2020 agreement between their campaign and the Missouri Ethics Commission, both sides agreed that there was evidence that the campaign committed violations, but that “there was no evidence of irregularities on the part of Eric Greitens”.
At the time, political pressure, as well as the possibility of the greens being removed, led the governor to resign. Although Greitens admitted to having a case, he denied the most serious allegations and pointed to the rejection of the charges, as well as the ethics report, as a dismissal.
Greitens intends to replace Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., Who is not running for re-election in 2022. Although Greitens is the biggest name to announce an offer on the Republican Party’s side, a handful of important names are still seen as potential candidates, including Reps. Ann Wagner, Vicky Hartzler and Billy Long.
Former state senator Scott Sifton, Navy veteran Lucas Kunce and activist Tim Shepard are currently running on the Democratic side.