United States Senator Eric Schmitt has endorsed his successor Andrew Bailey in next year’s pivotal Attorney General primary.
In a statement first provided to The Missouri Times Schmitt said:
“In 2024, Missourians will elect their Attorney General for the next four years. I am proud to have served our state in that office, and know how important it is that we maintain competent, conservative leadership for our state. It is imperative that the office remain in Republican hands next November. Missouri Republican primary voters will have a choice between several qualified candidates in August. Will Scharf is a personal friend, a capable attorney and an excellent candidate to hold the office.
I have no doubt that he will absolutely be successful in the General Election should he win the nomination. Attorney General Andrew Bailey, though, has shown me in the past year that he has what it takes to fight the battles that an Attorney General needs to fight. That is why I am endorsing Attorney General Andrew Bailey for the Republican nomination in next year’s election.”
Schmitt, the most popular republican office holder in Missouri, endorsed Bailey from Montgomery County, who succeeded him as Attorney General after Schmitt was overwhelmingly elected to the U.S. Senate in 2022. He chose Bailey over his opponent Will Scharf from St. Louis who most recently worked for Presidnet Trump and more recently President Biden’s Department of Justice.
“I am grateful for Senator Schmitt’s endorsement,” Bailey said. “Senator Schmitt’s legacy of excellence during his tenure as Attorney General set high standards for the office that I am proud to uphold. Senator Schmitt has proven he is one of Missouri’s and our country’s leading conservatives, and I’m proud to stand with him to lead the fight forward and win for Missouri.”
Bailey, a University of Missouri law graduate and combat war veteran, has continued several of the lawsuits Schmitt filed against the Biden administration, many of them all the way to the Supreme Court. Most recently being involved in a series of free speech litigation initiated by Schmitt alleging the Biden administration restricted the free speech and pressured social media companies to restrict the free speech of conservatives.
Scharf, a Harvard University graduate who worked in the Greitens administration, has received the support of several Washington D.C. groups such as the Club for Growth, and was recently hired to help defend President Trump in his appeal of a gag order imposed on him by a federal court. He currently has just over $1.4 million hand for the race after a $500,000 loan he made to his campaign.
While Bailey, who before becoming Attorney General served in the Parson administration has received the support from several Missouri based groups, most recently the Missouri Cattlemen Association, and has just over $1.3 million on hand for the August primary.
Brady Hays is a 2023 graduate of the University of Missouri with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in History. He is currently attending the University of Missouri School of Law and is on pace to graduate with his JD in 2026. He has been working for the Missouri Times since early March 0f 2022.
