JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The political action committee (PAC) Patriots for America began dropping a mail piece this week highlighting Republican gubernatorial candidate Eric Greitens’ recent conversion from the Democratic Party and claiming he is not a conservative.
The mailer attempts to drive home the point that Grietens is not a conservative by showing his prior endorsement of St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, among other claims.
It also hits Greitens for stating that he is a lifetime member of the NRA, but claims he only became a member of the NRA earlier this year.
It is such parsing of his resume that could get him in trouble with Republicans who only became aware of him this year.
Greitens has repeatedly claimed that one of his opponents, John Brunner, is behind the PAC. In a phone call, Brunner recorded Greitens calling him a “weasel,” a “coward,” and a “liar,” among other names.
Greitens campaign manager Austin Chambers reacted, “We hope Mr. Brunner and his SuperPAC continue to waste money, because their attacks aren’t working. Conservatives are rallying behind Eric because he’s a fighter who will take on the insiders in both parties to move Missouri forward.”
Both Greitens supporters and Steve Kraske have pointed to links between the person behind the PAC and people working in the Brunner campaign.
The mail piece also directs recipients to the PAC’s website, which slightly misspells Greitens name, and contains several attacks including video clips of speeches Greitens praising the United Nations and warning about the dangers of climate change.
The mail was hitting mailboxes the same day as a Politico story by Kevin Robillard stated Congressman Steve Israel, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in the 2010 cycle, saying “[Greitens] was totally in line with Democratic values. I thought he was a progressive breath of fresh air.”
In the article, Greitens campaign manager Austin Chambers responded:
Like a lot of politicians, Congressman Israel has a tough time with the truth and is trying to score cheap political points because Democrats are terrified of running against Eric.
The mail piece is below.
Rachael Herndon was the editor at The Missouri Times and also produced This Week in Missouri Politics, published Missouri Times Magazine, and co-hosted the #MoLeg podcast. She joined The Missouri Times in 2014, returning to political reporting after working as a campaign and legislative staffer.
Rachael studied at the University of Missouri – Columbia. She lives in Jefferson City with her husband, Brandon, and their two children.
