ST. LOUIS – Jay Ashcroft, one of the two Republicans running for Secretary of State, has landed another big endorsement from social conservatives.
The Missouri Eagle Forum gave its official nod of approval to Ashcroft Thursday. The founder of the organization, Phyllis Schlafly, gave her own personal endorsement in February. State chapter president Noreen McCann said that Ashcroft would “work tirelessly to champion fair elections that are free from fraud”
“While new threats face our nation every day, it is more important than ever that we maintain the integrity of our elections” McCann said. “Liberals in Missouri and across the country have used ballots as their personal playgrounds to manipulate words and engineer a liberal agenda… We are thrilled to endorse him in this election.”
Schlafly herself also spoke highly of Ashcroft after the Missouri Eagle Forum Sweetheart Luncheon at the Deer Creek Club in St. Louis.
“Missouri desperately needs consistent conservative leaders who will fight to defend our values,” Schlafly said in a statement. “Jay Ashcroft has a lifetime of commitment to the conservative cause and is the only consistent conservative running for Missouri Secretary of State. He has proven time and again that he will not waver in his defense of the constitutional principles that have made our country great. We are proud to endorse Jay Ashcroft for Missouri Secretary of State because we know he will be a steadfast defender of our families, our faith, and our freedom.”
The Eagle Forum has been the subject of quite a bit of controversy over leadership squabbles and infighting after Schlafly endorsed Donald Trump for president. Some members of the Forum’s board of directors argued she had been coerced into the endorsement by Eagle Forum president Ed Martin whom she appointed to the post. In April, six board members voted to oust Martin.
Despite the instability in one of the nation’s largest and most influential conservative organizations, the state chapter will continue to endorse candidates, and Ashcroft will get the benefit.
“I am honored to receive the support of the Missouri Eagle Forum,” Ashcroft said in a statement. “We need proven conservatives at all levels of government who are willing to stand strong for our conservative values. As Secretary of State, I will put a stop to the games that, for too long, liberal Secretaries of State like Robin Carnahan and Jason Kander have played with our ballots.”
While Ashcroft has relied on endorsements from noted social conservatives like Schlafly, Mike Huckabee, and the Missouri Right-to-Life, his primary opponent, Sen. Will Kraus, has the endorsement of most Republican legislators in the General Assembly.
