Former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens (R), who is vying to replace outgoing Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO), holds a substantial lead among his primary challengers — a lead which increases when voters are told of his vow to vote against reelecting Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as Republican leader, a Fabrizio Lee & Associates survey released this week found.
On the surface, Greitens, who has positioned himself as a MAGA candidate, leads his Republican primary challengers by double digits, garnering 36 percent support in the field.
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt (R), perhaps his top GOP challenger, falls in a distant second with 17 percent support, and Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO) comes in third with ten percent support. No other candidate saw support reaching double digits.
MO Senate GOP Primary Memo by Breitbart News on Scribd
However, Greitens’ lead expands further when voters are told of his pledge to remove McConnell as Republican leader in the Senate, jumping from 36 percent support to 44 percent support. In that scenario, Schmitt’s support drops by three percentage points, while Hartzler’s remains unchanged.
Referring to the Republican Party as the “MAGA Party,” Greiten pledged to oppose McConnell’s leadership position last month:
We've got to have new leadership in the Senate. The Republican Party is now the MAGA Party.
No more weak, woke, establishment Republicans!
Join our movement: https://t.co/7WcexczZj8 pic.twitter.com/rVNu856P1L
— Eric Greitens (@EricGreitens) September 21, 2021
Indeed, Greitens has positioned himself as a Trump candidate, telling Breitbart News in April that Missourians need someone who will fight for former President Donald Trump’s America First policies.
“I think that it’s not enough for people to have an R behind their name. I think that we need strong people who are willing to defend Trump’s America First policies,” he said.
Missouri Attorney General and U.S. Senate candidate Josh Hawley (L-R), Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens listen to U.S. President Donald Trump during a rally at the St. Charles Convention Center on November 29, 2017 in St. Charles, Missouri. (Whitney Curtis/Getty)
Greitens’ devotion to Trump’s America First policies could bode well for him, as the survey also found that 83 percent of Republican Primary voters in Missouri have a favorable view of Trump. Moreover, 88 percent say they approve of the job he did as president.
The survey, taken October 3-5, 22021, among 400 likely Republican primary voters, has a margin of error of +/- 4.9 percent.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.