Roy Blunt joins Josh Hawley in calling for Eric Greitens to drop out of senate race
Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt joined the calls Tuesday for former Gov. Eric Greitens to drop out of the U.S Senate race after allegations that he mentally and physically abused his ex-wife and children.
“I think if the statements made to the court are true, he should not be a candidate for the Senate,” Blunt said.
Blunt still stopped short of denouncing Greitens completely, deflecting a question about whether he would support him if he won the GOP primary.
“It’s a long time until August,” he said.
Sheena Greitens filed an affidavit in a child custody dispute that the former governor threatened her, knocked her down, hit one of their children and dragged him by the hair. The allegations come on top of claims that Greitens sexually abused and blackmailed his mistress while governor in 2018.
Greitens has denied the claims, calling them a politically-motivated attack.
Blunt’s comments come as state and national Republicans are determining how to handle Greitens’ scandal plagued background and candidacy.
Until Tuesday, he had largely stayed out of the Republican contest to become replace him in the senate and has not endorsed any candidates. But new allegations against Greitens have rocked the campaign and elevated concerns that Greitens would put the Republican-controlled seat in jeopardy if he were to win the primary.
While Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley has also called on Greitens to drop out, saying “if you hit a woman or a child, you belong in handcuffs, not the United States Senate,” other national Republican leaders have been more cautious.
Florida Sen. Rick Scott, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, called the allegations against Greitens “disturbing” on Monday, but stopped short of calling him to leave the race.
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to say if he felt Greitens was fit to be a U.S. Senator.
“I think all of the developments over the last 24 hours, the people of Missouri are going to take into account, both in the primary and I would assume would take into account in the general,” McConnell said.
Republicans face a political challenge over how to respond to the allegations against Greitens. While there is concern at the Capitol that Greitens would not be able to win a general election, too much pressure against him could potentially backfire.
Already, Greitens has positioned himself as an anti-establishment candidate willing to fight the Republican power structure in Washington. He appeared on a podcast by Steve Bannon, an adviser to former President Donald Trump, and claimed the allegations were orchestrated by McConnell, even though they came in sworn testimony to a judge.
The Kansas City Star’s Jonathan Shorman contributed reporting