COLUMBIA, Mo. – Eric Greitens hit the campaign trail one final time before the November 8th election, calling for voters to help lead the GOP to a ‘clean sweep’ of the Show Me State.
“All of the momentum is on our side, because the people of Missouri are standing up there, joining this campaign. They recognize what’s at stake,” Greitens said. “People recognize that the status quo isn’t working, and they’re tired of crooked career politicians like Chris Koster.”
Sen. Mike Parson, Josh Hawley, and Sen. Eric Schmitt joined the Republican gubernatorial candidate on his statewide tour on the final day before the election.
The party flew by jet to several airports around the state, making rally stops in Columbia, Hannibal, Kirksville, St. Joseph, Lee’s Summit, Joplin, Springfield, and Cape Girardeau before finishing in St. Louis on Monday night.
“We’re going to be fighting for every single vote, all the way until the polls close tomorrow. We want to let people know what the choice is in this election,” Greitens said.
The first stop of the day was in Columbia, where the men greeted a handful of voters inside an airplane hanger, shaking hands and speaking for a few minutes apiece.
Each of the candidates drove home the idea that the Democratic opponents were career politicians who put in place what they called failed policies, most notably Obamacare.
“Hillary Clinton represents everything that is wrong with Washington,” Josh Hawley said. “Here’s my question: are you for Washington, or are you for Missouri?”
Eric Schmitt stressed that every vote would count, encouraging voters to call, email, and spread their message in any way possible.
“There’s a very clear choice: do we want more taxes, more Obamacare? Do we want a governor who is going to stand up against that stuff?” Schmitt asked. “If we do this right, we’re going to change the direction of the state.”
Sen. Mike Parson took the stage after Schmitt, saying that Missouri had the chance to make history with a sweep.
“This hasn’t been done for almost a half century, but how would you like to have two United States armed forces military veterans be the next governor and lieutenant governor of Missouri?” Parson asked. The crowd responded with cheers.
“People have been rising up, as they ready to take this state in a new direction,” Greitens said. “What it’s going to come down to is who wants it the most.”
Greitens spoke about President Obama’s endorsement of Chris Koster, who has said he supports expanding Obamacare in Missouri.
“We’re not going to do it folks, we’re going to stand up and fight against it,” Greitens said.
“Hillary Clinton’s big government liberal agendas are the wrong agendas for the state of Missouri, and we’re going to stand up and fight against them,” he continued.
Both Greitens and Koster have accepted six-figure and even seven-figure monetary contributions to their campaign, and Greitens made note of Clinton donating $500,000 to Koster’s gubernatorial campaign.
When asked if he would vote for Amendment 2, which would put limits on campaign contributions, Greitens responded, saying “We believe that we have to clean up Jefferson City, and that’s why we’re standing up and saying that when I’m governor, we’re going to ban all gifts from lobbyists. We’re going to close the revolving doors between legislators and special interests, and we’re going to put in place term limits for every statewide office holder. That’s what we think is critical in this election.”
Greitens was pressed to answer whether he would vote in favor in Amendment 2, and he repeated his response, saying he was letting voters know exactly what his plan was.
Voters will say whether they’re satisfied with his answers by voting for him or for his opponent on Tuesday.
Benjamin Peters was a reporter for The Missouri Times and Missouri Times Magazine and also produced the #MoLeg Podcast. He joined The Missouri Times in 2016 after working as a sports editor and TV news producer in mid-Missouri. Benjamin is a graduate of Missouri State University in Springfield.
