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Greitens officially announces candidacy for governor

ST. LOUIS – After months of speculation, rumors and not-so-subtle hinting, former Navy SEAL and nonprofit organizer Eric Greitens officially announced his candidacy for governor Saturday at Westport Plaza in St. Louis.

Greitens spoke before a crowd numbering into the hundreds in front of a back drop with the phrase “Conservative Outsider” behind him in bold print. The Republican candidate, who has never before held public office, hit on all of the typical conservative talking points; claiming he would defend Second Amendment rights, stand up for the unborn on a pro-life platform, and help bring jobs back to the state by limiting the power of government.

Eric Greitens in St. Louis
Eric Greitens in St. Louis

Although Greitens chastised Jefferson City as corrupt and ineffective he was introduced by State Representative Kirk Mathews, R-Eureka, and former State Treasurer Sarah Steelman, as well as two members of his organization, The Mission Continues. Greitens spoke about how that organization worked to give veterans opportunities when they returned home from their tours of duty.

While chastising career politicians and a culture of corruption in the state capitol, where over two-thirds of each chamber is filled with members of his new party, he didn’t specifically name anyone as corrupt.

“We succeeded where government had failed because we gave people a new mission. We gave our veterans a new mission, we gave our churches and synagogues and our businesses a new mission, and it’s time for us here in Missouri to embrace a new mission,” he said during his speech.

“I know that with conservative leadership, we can turn Missouri around.”

During his speech he did not address perhaps his campaign’s most challenging issue, formerly being a democrat and as recently as 2010 exploring a run for federal office as one. While a self proclaimed conservative outsider today, he attended President Barack Obama’s nominating speech in 2008 and will have to answer questions about his ideological transformation as the campaign unfolds.

Greitens has mostly made headlines for staying out of the spotlight up until now and for raising relatively vast quantities of money in the Republican primary. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Tuesday that Greitens has well over $2 million in cash on hand, with almost half of that coming since his campaign filed their July quarterly report with the Missouri Ethics Commission.

Greitens will begin a tour of the state starting Monday to propel his campaign.