JEFFERSON CITY — The Republican challenging Attorney General Andrew Bailey in the Aug. 6 primary said on social media last week the attorney general’s “incompetence†was hurting the anti-abortion cause in Missouri.
Bailey, in an interview on , hit back at his opponent, Will Scharf, calling him a “liar,†a “coward†and — in what he apparently meant as an insult — said Scharf had a “Harvard education.â€
Bailey’s campaign piled on Monday. Michael Hafner, spokesman for Bailey, said Scharf would have to do better than “telling lies and bring more than a knife to a gun fight — figuratively.â€
Bailey’s campaign pointed to that lists Scharf’s parents as attendees at a Planned Parenthood party.
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“Missourians are not falling for the lies of a New Yorker, whose family is not only trying to buy an office in Missouri but has supported Planned Parenthood in the past,†Hafner said.
Hafner said Bailey was the only “100% pro-life candidate†and that Bailey and his wife have adopted children out of foster care and “held their newborn daughter in their arms for an hour before she died.â€
“They are unequivocally pro-life by conviction, not out of political expediency, like ‘Wall Street Willy,’†Hafner said.
The dust-up follows Scharf’s taking aim at Bailey, which had been viewed tens of thousands of times.
Scharf claimed Bailey in December attempted to appeal a $300,000 award to Planned Parenthood but that it was dismissed because it wasn’t filed on time.
“Heck, at $300,000, Bailey is effectively one of Planned Parenthood’s biggest donors! They should give him an award,†Scharf said.
But Bailey’s office said Monday the litigation was ongoing.
“Attorney General Bailey will continue to fight to ensure Planned Parenthood does not receive a single dime in taxpayer dollars,†said Madeline Sieren, spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office.
The dispute Scharf is referring to dates back to 2019, when Gov. Mike Parson’s administration tried and failed to shut down the state’s lone abortion provider in ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
The Administrative Hearing Commission awarded Planned Parenthood $140,000 in legal fees in 2021 after the group had originally asked for nearly $300,000 for fees and expenses, according to court records. Both sides appealed that decision.
Bailey, on radio Friday, added Scharf had “never filed a lawsuit in his life†and that he is a “rich kid from New York who’s ridden on his parents’ wealth.â€
Said Bailey, “He needs to go back to New York, with his Harvard education.â€
Scharf said Monday that Bailey was “resorting to fifth-grade name-calling.â€
In another post last week on X, Scharf also referenced a Feb. 14 Missouri Supreme Court ruling in which the high court sided with Planned Parenthood in its fight for state Medicaid reimbursements after lawmakers and Parson attempted to defund the organization.
“Andrew Bailey’s incompetence is hurting the pro-life cause in Missouri,†Scharf said.
Planned Parenthood argued in its lawsuit the measure attempting to defund the group violated the single-subject requirement in the Missouri Constitution as well as the state constitution’s equal protection clause.
The Cole County Circuit Court agreed.
On appeal, the state raised procedural arguments. Bailey’s office said that if the court didn’t find those arguments persuasive, then it should rule against the circuit court’s judgment on the “single-subject†requirement.
But the state did not dispute the Circuit Court’s finding with regard to the equal protection violation.
“Notably, the state does not argue and does not contend†the circuit court erred when it sided with Planned Parenthood on its equal protection claim, the Supreme Court said.
Sieren said the attorney general’s office was surprised by the Supreme Court decision. She said the trial court “opted not to reach the equal protection claim.â€
“You typically do not appeal a claim that a court doesn’t consider,†Sieren said.
The Supreme Court, in its ruling, said the state contends the circuit court only addressed the single subject claim.
“Yet the judgment clearly stated it is in regard to ‘all counts,’†the decision said.
Either Bailey, who got his law degree at the University of Missouri, and Scharf, a Harvard Law graduate, is expected to face Democrat Elad Gross, a Washington University School of Law graduate, in the general election.