JEFFERSON CITY — Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine has released a pair of ads blasting Attorney General Eric Schmitt for his actions on abortion and Chinese-owned farmland.
The references Schmitt’s support for legislation in 2013 to allow foreign ownership of farmland.
“If Eric Schmitt wanted to sell farmland to communists in China, he should’ve become a broker in Beijing,†a narrator in the ad says.
The campaign claims 146,000 acres of Missouri land have been purchased by Chinese-controlled companies, citing an article last year by the that said Hong Kong-based WH Group, owner of Smithfield Foods, owned more than 146,000 acres in Missouri.
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“I will never sell Missouri farms to China,†Valentine says.
In the , Valentine criticizes Schmitt’s move as attorney general to trigger Missouri’s near-total abortion ban after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.
A law Gov. Mike Parson signed in 2019 said the attorney general could issue an opinion to trigger the ban if the high court reversed Roe v. Wade. The law contains no exceptions for rape or incest.
“Government mandating women’s health care decisions is un-American,†Valentine says. “I’ll protect our freedoms.â€
Rich Chrismer, spokesman for Schmitt’s campaign, said in an email that Valentine “is so extreme on this issue that she supports abortion at every stage, including partial-birth abortion, taxpayer-funded abortion†and even “live-birth abortion policies.â€
Chrismer also said Valentine “supports the extreme job-destroying, energy-price increasing, inflation-creating policies of Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer, which are crushing our economy and driving up the price of everything for Missouri families.â€
He said that “doesn’t mean much to an Heiress with access to millions, but means everything to families who are working and struggling in the Biden economy.â€
Jacob Long, spokesman for Valentine, said, “Eric Schmitt can try to distract from his extreme views all he wants, but Missouri voters know that his mandate re-victimizes women who have been raped or molested by taking away their freedom to make their own private medical decisions.â€
Long said the campaign is airing the new ads on TV in the ºüÀêÊÓƵ, Kansas City, Springfield and Columbia media markets.
Polls have shown Schmitt leading Valentine by a wide margin. The election is Nov. 8.