Eric Schmitt Defeats Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine in Missouri U.S. Senate Race

Eric Schmitt speaks at an election-night gathering after winning the Republican primary fo
Kyle Rivas/Getty Images
Katherine Hamilton

Republican Eric Schmitt will be Missouri’s next U.S. Senator after winning against Democrat Anheuser-Busch beer heiress Trudy Busch Valentine in a landslide victory on Tuesday night, the Associated Press projected. 

The Associated Press called the race for Schmitt before 9:30 p.m. Central with only 44 percent of votes counted. At the time, Schmitt was leading Valentine 57.4 percent to 40.2 percent (556,457 votes to 390,202 votes), according to the New York Times. Polls in Missouri closed at 7 p.m. 

Coming up to the election, Missouri Attorney General Schmitt was dominating the polls by double-digits, and RealClearPolitics showed Schmitt averaging ahead by 10.7 points. Schmitt will fill retiring Sen. Roy Blunt’s seat (R-MO). 

Schmitt and Valentine spent much of the campaign debating over issues such as the economy, inflation, abortion, and President Joe Biden’s record. Valentine campaigned heavily on being pro-abortion and on claims that Schmitt would favor a federal abortion ban, though Schmitt has declined to outline his position before seeing actual legislation. 

Schmitt spent much of his campaign emphasizing his blue-collar background and his plans to end “reckless spending.” He also accused Valentine of being a “limousine liberal” who would be apathetic to “what inflation is doing to your wallet.”

Schmitt has also highlighted rising crime, pointing in August to the poor consequences of Democrat leadership as he blasted St. Louis leaders for blaming the city’s crime issues, in part, on car manufacturers instead of on Democrat policies.

“St. Louis has a violent crime problem. What’s causing crime in the city? The Mayor’s war against the police? The prosecutor letting criminals run wild?” he asked.

“Evidently city ‘leaders’ think it’s….the cars. Yes — car manufacturers are to blame, not criminals,” he said. “You can’t make this stuff up.”

Valentine notably doubled what Schmitt raised and spent in the race, raising nearly $12 million and spending $11.6 million by October 19, according to OpenSecrets. Schmitt raised $5.7 million and spent $5.4 million, though he benefited from massive outside spending. $9.2 million of supportive outside spending went to Schmitt, while just $12,250 went to supporting Valentine. 

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.