JEFFERSON CITY — Republican Attorney General Eric Schmitt easily won the race for Missouri’s open U.S. Senate seat Tuesday, but he may not know until next month whether his party will remain in the minority.
Unlike Missouri, where Schmitt beat wealthy Democratic newcomer Trudy Busch Valentine by 13 percentage points, votes are still being tallied in Arizona and Nevada contests.
And, a runoff election is planned in Georgia in December between Republican Herschel Walker and incumbent Democrat U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock after they each failed to garner a clear majority of votes on Tuesday.
The 47-year-old Schmitt, though, can begin the transition from attorney general to taking over a seat held by the retiring U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt.
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“Attorney General Schmitt and his staff will continue to carry out the responsibilities of the Attorney General’s Office and continue to work for the people of Missouri, while also aiding the next attorney general to ensure a seamless and smooth transition,†said Chris Nuelle, spokesman for the attorney general’s office.
Among tasks awaiting Schmitt are deciding on housing while the Senate is in session. He’ll also be moving into a new office, picking staffers for both his D.C. and home-state operations and keeping an eye on potential committee assignments.
He’ll also be getting a raise. The U.S. Senate job pays $174,000, while attorney general pays $116,000.
Schmitt’s path to the national stage came as other Republicans staved off tougher competition. Political forecasters didn’t consider Missouri’s U.S. Senate race competitive, and the national parties didn’t burn resources here.
Instead, Schmitt used Valentine’s wealth as an heir to the Anheuser-Busch beer fortune against her to portray her as out-of-touch with working voters.
He hit Republican themes on crime and inflation, and told voters Valentine would be President Joe Biden’s “51st vote†— an apparently effective message in a state that Trump won with 56% of the vote in 2020.
“Missouri continually kind of becomes more of a reliable Republican state,†said James Harris, a Missouri Republican strategist. “I think he (Schmitt) has a good bio of, you know, being a state senator, the attorney general, where he’s been able to work on a lot of issues that really are important to voters.â€
Harris said COVID-19 “presented him an important opportunity.†He said more Senate races “have become mini national referendums.â€
“In this state, they wanted a Republican senator — someone that would, you know, hold the Biden administration accountable, slow down Biden policies,†Harris said.
‘Convincing win’
Schmitt won by a wider margin than U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley in 2018, who faced tough competition that year from incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill.
Hawley and McCaskill both received more raw votes than their 2022 counterparts.
Schmitt’s victory was an “overwhelming, convincing win,†Harris said. “To win by, you know, 12-plus points over your Democrat opponent statewide for a United States Senate race is a huge deal.â€
Jacob Long, spokesman for Valentine’s campaign, said there were bright spots for Democrats in the defeat. He noted that Valentine received a higher vote share than both Hillary Clinton and President Joe Biden in Missouri, as well as Auditor Nicole Galloway in her run for governor two years ago.
Democrats also improved their standing in the Missouri House with Valentine at the top of the ticket.
Long said Valentine stopped the bleeding in rural parts of the state, with Schmitt only outperforming Trump’s 2020 effort in far southeast and southwest Missouri counties, as well as Adair and Pulaski counties, according to an analysis .
“We feel good about that,†Long said.
No to McConnell
Once in the nation’s Capitol, Schmitt is expected to align himself with Republican senators like Hawley and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who have said they will not support Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., for another term as leader.
Schmitt has said he prefers either Cruz or Mike Lee of Utah to lead the Republican caucus.
Although this will be Schmitt’s first foray into Washington as an elected federal official, he’s not a stranger to the nationalized political scene.
As attorney general, Schmitt teamed with his GOP colleagues in other states to sue the Biden administration on more than two dozen issues ranging from student loan forgiveness to climate change.
In June, Schmitt used his power as attorney general to trigger Missouri’s ban on abortion six minutes after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Priorities
At his victory speech Tuesday at a ºüÀêÊÓƵ County hotel, Schmitt said his win “sent a message to Joe Biden that enough is enough — we want our country back.â€
“I am humbled by your support and I am honored by your votes. And I can promise you this: I’ll be much more than a senator from Missouri. I’ll be a senator for Missouri,†Schmitt said.
Once in D.C., Schmitt has said his priorities will be cutting federal spending, monitoring large technology companies and boosting domestic energy production.
He also plans to continue raising violent crime as an issue the federal government can address.
“I believe in an America where moms and dads can raise their kids without worrying about fentanyl and crime — and where we defend the police, not defund the police,†Schmitt said.
Parson to pick successor
Meanwhile, it is not clear when Gov. Mike Parson will announce his pick to replace Schmitt as attorney general.
“A date and time have not been determined,†Parson spokeswoman Kelli Jones said.
Parson, a Republican, departed Thursday for a 10-day trade mission to the Middle East. He has interviewed five people for the post.
Among those who have surfaced as potential appointees are Parson’s general counsel Andrew Bailey, former U.S. Attorney Tim Garrison, former state Sen. Kurt Schaefer and current state Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer, R-Parkville.
Luetkemeyer said Thursday he could neither confirm nor deny that he’d been interviewed for the position.