Missouri GOP silent on Eric Greitens, but party took action against other candidates
The Missouri Republican Party was silent Tuesday about the domestic violence allegations against Senate candidate Eric Greitens, even though the party recently took action against other candidates over alleged wrongdoing or reprehensible comments.
The former governor faces widespread calls – including from Republicans – to drop out after his ex-wife, former Missouri first lady Sheena Greitens, filed an affidavit Monday in a child custody dispute accusing Eric Greitens of threatening her, knocking her down and striking one of their children.
Greitens resigned in 2018 amid allegations of sexually violent and non-consensual behavior against his hairdresser, with whom he was having an affair. He was indicted and accused of invasion of privacy over allegations he took a compromising photo of the woman, though the charge was later dropped.
He has used the Senate campaign to attempt a political comeback, but Republicans in both Missouri and Washington fear his toxic past, compounded by the new allegations, puts the party at risk of losing the seat.
The Star contacted half-a-dozen top Missouri GOP officials about Greitens. All either didn’t respond to calls and messages or declined to be interviewed. An email sent to an address for press inquiries listed on the party website bounced back.
While party officials remain tight-lipped about Greitens, the Missouri GOP cut ties with at least two candidates last month.
The party rejected the candidate filing fee from state Rep. Tricia Derges, a Nixa Republican under federal indictment over allegations she sold fake stem cell treatments. It did the same with Steve West, a Kansas City Republican who wanted to run for the Missouri House but is known for anti-Semitic comments and once saying “Hitler was right.” He previously won a primary election in 2020 but lost the general election.
By refusing to accept the fees, Republican officials effectively blocked both from running as Republicans. In Missouri, candidates running as members of major parties are required to provide a receipt showing they paid the party – $500 for U.S. Senate, $300 for U.S. House or state Senate, or $150 for state representative.
A similar move against Greitens is likely no longer possible. He successfully filed on Feb. 22, the first day of the filing period. JoDonn Chaney, spokesman for Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, said only a court order could compel the state to remove a candidate who has already filed, though Greitens could voluntarily drop out.
“I honestly don’t think there’s anything that the party can do to keep him from running even though it’s clear that one, he’s not fit for office, and two, if he wins the nomination, there’s a very good chance that the Democrats will win that Senate seat. But there’s nothing the party can do. I mean, I’m sorry to say that, but that’s my opinion,” said Jean Evans, a former Missouri GOP chair.
‘His own worst enemy’
Short of keeping him off the ballot, the Missouri GOP could take a public position against Greitens, though parties typically remain neutral in primary races. But that risks placing the party in an especially awkward position if Greitens wins the primary, forcing party officials to choose whether to aid a nominee it’s denounced.
How and when the party decides to intervene – and what allegations and conduct merit intervention – isn’t always clear. Al Watkins, an attorney for Derges, has condemned the decision to reject her filing fee while accepting payment from Greitens.
Watkins, who represented the ex-husband of the woman who accused Greitens of blackmail and violent sexual misconduct, has written to the Missouri Republican State Committee – which controls the state party – to voice his concerns.
In his written reply, Lowell Pearson, an attorney for the party, said that the GOP and the state committee “have a right to only associate with persons who reflect the valus (sic) of the Party and MRSC,” the Springfield News-Leader reported earlier this month.
Watkins rejected that argument in an email to The Star Tuesday. “The State GOP provided no criteria and repudiated the suggestion that given the acceptance of Greitens as a GOP candidate for US Senate the State GOP was being doctrinally indeterminate, arbitrary and capricious,” Watkins said.
Greitens would almost certainly use any public denunciation by the Missouri Republican Party to rally diehard supporters and paint himself as fighting establishment Republicans.
“I think that there’s an anti-establishment part of Republicans who is going to react poorly to that, and they’re already supporting Greitens. If they see something from the so-called establishment Republicans that’s against Greitens, I think it could actually backfire,” Evans said.
“I think they should just let things play out, Greitens is his own worst enemy, based on his behavior in the past.”
In the wake of the new allegations Monday, Greitens has already begun trying to fit the accusations into his anti-establishment narrative. He appeared on the podcast of Steve Bannon, a former adviser to former President Donald Trump, and claimed Sheena Greitens’ allegations – made in a sworn statement – were orchestrated by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. He has given little indication he is considering dropping out.
“I was the first person in the country to say when I’m in the Senate, I’m voting against Mitch McConnell,” Greitens tweeted. “Now, we are hearing that DC political operatives worked with my ex-wife to spread false allegations.”
A Greitens spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
National Republicans reluctant
Nationally, Republicans have been reluctant to intervene in the race out of concern that it would further energize Greitens’ campaign.
National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Rick Scott said Monday that the allegations against Greitens were “disturbing” but stopped short of calling on him to drop out. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell avoided a question about whether he felt Greitens was fit to serve as a U.S. Senator, saying he’d leave it up to people in Missouri to decide.
Greitens is not the only major U.S. Senate candidate who has been accused of domestic violence. In Georgia, Herschel Walker – the leading Republican backed by Trump, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley – has been accused of making violent threats against several women he dated.
In Pennsylvania, Sean Parnell – another Republican backed by Trump and Hawley – was accused of physically and mentally abusing his ex-wife and children during a child custody dispute.
Major scandals are not automatically fatal to campaigns. Following the model of Trump, who was able to win the presidency despite allegations of sexual assault and a recording of him bragging about grabbing women’s genitals, it has become more common for candidate to deny the allegations and carry on with their campaign.
Not all of them win. In 2017, Alabama senate candidate Roy Moore was accused of sexual misconduct with a teenager. He lost his race, marking the first time a Democrat won a senate race in Alabama since 1990. In North Carolina in 2020, Democratic candidate Cal Cunningham admitted he was having an affair after text messages leaked to the public. He lost the race by less than two percentage points.
Both Walker and Parnell initially denied the allegations made against them and continued to campaign. Walker is still running. Parnell stayed in his race until a judge ruled against him, granting custody of their children to his ex-wife.
Parnell’s Senate campaign factored into the judge’s decision.
The Greitens custody battle in Missouri is ongoing. Sheena Greitens’ allegations came as part of an effort to move the custody battle from Missouri to Texas. That decision will ultimately be up to a judge in Missouri and it is not clear whether a ruling against Greitens to move the case to Texas would affect Greitens’ candidacy.
This story was originally published March 22, 2022 at 2:34 PM.
