Jefferson City, Mo. — After endorsing one of his most notable opponents in the GOP primary, the Missouri Farm Bureau has endorsed Attorney General Eric Schmitt in the general election for U.S. Senate.
The bureau endorsed Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler, who came as runner-up behind Schmitt on Aug. 2 in the Republican primary. Missouri Farm Bureau follows in the steps of Missouri Soybeans, who also endorsed Hartzler and have now endorsed Schmitt in the general election.
“Missouri has long been blessed with outstanding leaders, especially in the world of agriculture. None has been better or more consistent than Vicky Hartzler. We are proud to stand with the members of the Missouri Farm Bureau and vote for her to be our next U.S. Senator. We hope you will join us on August 2 and do the same,” Missouri Farm Bureau president Garrett Hawkins said in an opinion editorial for the Missouri Times on July 12.
With Hartzler falling well short of Schmitt, it’s no surprise to see the Farm Bureau endorse the GOP nominee. Especially as Schmitt has framed his Democrat opponent, Trudy Busch Valentine, as “wrong for farmers” in recent weeks. Schmitt used his first general election advertisement to almost exclusively attack Busch for supporting President Biden and his “socialist agenda” over Missouri farmers.
“Rep. Hartzler served agriculture well as a member of the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture and she’s been a long-time grassroots leader in our organization. Earning our members’ endorsement in the primary,” Hawkins said in a statement. “Missourians were fortunate to have strong candidates to choose from in the primary election, and we look forward to Eric Schmitt bringing Missouri’s common sense values to Washington.”
This is far from the first time the bureau has spoken out in favor of Schmitt. The bureau backed Schmitt both when he was appointed as Attorney General in 2019 as well as when he ran his first campaign for the position in 2020.
“Attorney General Schmitt has been a staunch ally of rural Missourians at every level of public service,” Hawkins said in a press release. “We need strong leaders to fight on behalf of Missouri’s farmers and ranchers against an activist administration, and he has already proven he is not afraid to speak up and work for us.”
Featured Image courtesy of Eric Schmitt/Twitter
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