Former President Donald Trump on Saturday endorsed all three front-runners for the Republican nomination for Missouri governor.
“Missouri has three great people running for Governor — Jay Ashcroft, Mike Kehoe, and Bill Eigel,†Trump wrote on his social media site, Truth Social. “All have had excellent careers, and have been with me from the beginning. They are MAGA and America First all the way!
“I can’t hurt two of them by Endorsing one so, therefore, I’m going to Endorse, for Governor of the Great State of Missouri, Jay Ashcroft, Mike Kehoe, and Bill Eigel. Choose any one of them — You can’t go wrong!â€
All three candidates immediately thanked Trump for his endorsement without mentioning he was also backing their rivals.
Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe wrote on X: “I was incredibly excited tonight to receive President Trump’s endorsement to be the next governor of Missouri. I want to ask you to join President Trump in supporting our campaign, and help us Make America Great Again!â€
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I was incredibly excited tonight to receive President Trump’s endorsement to be the next governor of Missouri.
— Mike Kehoe (@MikeLKehoe)
I want to ask you to join President Trump in supporting our campaign, and help us Make America Great Again!
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft wrote: “I’m proud to be the only candidate for Governor endorsed by Missouri Right to Life PAC and by President Donald Trump.â€
I’m proud to be the only candidate for Governor endorsed by and by President !
— Jay Ashcroft (@JayAshcroftMO)
Join President Trump and Missouri Right to Life in supporting my campaign at
Let’s engineer a better Missouri!
And state Sen. Bill Eigel, R-Weldon Spring, wrote: “Grateful for the kind words and endorsement, President Trump! As Governor, I will deport every illegal in the state, eliminate the personal property tax, and secure our elections. Let’s Go Missouri!â€
Grateful for the kind words and endorsement, President Trump! As Governor, I will deport every illegal in the state, eliminate the personal property tax, and secure our elections. Let’s Go Missouri!
— Bill Eigel (@BillEigel)
For Eigel, who has trailed Kehoe and Ashcroft in the polls, the endorsement could validate his claim that the GOP contest is now a three-way race.
This isn’t the first time Trump hedged his bets.
In 2022, when Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and former Gov. Eric Greitens were among candidates for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate, Trump held off on endorsing in the race until the day before the primary, then threw his support to “ERIC.â€
Schmitt won the nomination and the general election.
Scott Charton, a political consultant and former journalist, on social media compared the Trump endorsement in the GOP governor’s contest to “kissing your sweetie through a screen doorÌý— a bit less than satisfying.â€