Attorney General Eric Schmitt and former Gov. Eric Greitens are locked in a virtual tie for U.S. Senate among Republican primary voters polled in a recent survey.
The Remington/MO Scout poll asked likely 2022 Republican primary voters who they would choose between Greitens and Schmitt if the election was held today: 40 percent chose Greitens while 39 percent chose Schmitt. Twenty-one percent of those polled were undecided.
Greitens reported about $27,300 (including an $18,000 personal contribution) during the first quarter. He has a little more than $9,000 cash on hand. Schmitt did not file for the U.S. Senate race in time to report earnings yet.
The poll of 1,041 likely voters was conducted March 24-25 with a margin of error of +/- 3 percent.
The survey also took a look at how Greitens and Schmitt would fare should any of the other rumored Republicans jump into the race to replace the outgoing Roy Blunt. In all cases, Greitens fared better than Schmitt.
If Congressman Jason Smith — a staunch Trump ally who could garner the former president’s endorsement — runs, Greitens leads with 36 percent followed by Schmitt with 29 percent and Smith with 19 percent. The undecided vote sits at 19 percent.
And with Congresswoman Ann Wagner in the race, 18 percent of voters said they would choose her compared to 38 percent who would stick with the former governor and 26 percent who would back the attorney general. In this race, 18 percent of voters said they were undecided.
Under the option of a full slate of candidates — Greitens, Schmitt, Smith, Wagner, Congressman Billy Long, Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler, and businessman John Brunner — 31 percent of likely voters picked Greitens. However, 18 percent chose Schmitt, 14 percent are undecided, 12 percent backed Wagner, 9 percent picked Smith, 8 percent chose Hartzler, and 2 percent sided with Brunner.
Most of the voters polled said they considered themselves to be “Trump Republicans” (45 percent). Twenty-three percent identified as “traditional and establishment,” 12 percent as “evangelical,” and 3 percent as “libertarian.”
Greitens and Schmitt are the only Republicans who have officially jumped into the race. Smith is holding a reception at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home later this month.
Kaitlyn Schallhorn was the editor in chief of The Missouri Times from 2020-2022. She joined the newspaper in early 2019 after working as a reporter for Fox News in New York City.
Throughout her career, Kaitlyn has covered political campaigns across the U.S., including the 2016 presidential election, and humanitarian aid efforts in Africa and the Middle East.
She is a native of Missouri who studied journalism at Winthrop University in South Carolina. She is also an alumna of the National Journalism Center in Washington, D.C.
Contact Kaitlyn at kaitlyn@themissouritimes.com.