Missouri GOP facing 'nightmarish' scenario as disgraced ex-governor eyes a 2022 Senate bid

According to a report from Politico, Missouri Republicans still reeling from the surprise announcement from Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) that he will not run for re-election are now unhappy that former GOP Gov. Eric Greitens -- who stepped down in 2018 under a sex assault accusation cloud -- wants to run for Blunt's seat.

As Politico's Alex Isenstadt wrote, "Greitens — who resigned in mid-2018,less than two years into his term, following allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman who was not his wife — has been calling around to fellow Republicans to inform them of his deliberations, and many have come away convinced he's running."

That has Republicans in the state worried his troubled past could cost them a seat that would normally not be a problem to hold onto in the conservative state that also sent Josh Hawley to the Senate.

Of concern to the state's GOP leadership is recent election history when they nominated Missouri Senate candidate, Todd Akin, who went on to lose due to controversial comments about pregnancy, saying it rarely occurs as a result of "legitimate rape" -- in his words.

According to some Republicans, Greiten's sex assault accusations will likely be a central theme of attacks by Democrats on his candidacy should he get through the primary.

That concern of losing the seat in a sharply divided Senate extends beyond Missouri and there is a movement afoot to derail his candidacy.

"Republican leaders say they aren't ruling out taking aggressive steps to stop Greitens from winning the nomination, including waging a slashing advertising campaign against him," the report states. "Party officials — ranging from members of the Missouri congressional delegation to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's political operation — have been united in their worryabout the formergovernor and spent the week having conversations about the situation, according to people familiar with the discussions."

According to Scott Reed, the former senior political strategist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, "Greitens is a clear and present danger to botching the race for the GOP."

Missouri GOP strategist Gregg Keller was more to the point.

"The easiest way to give this seat to a Biden acolyte is to have a divisive Republican primary, followed by someone incredibly damaged like Eric Greitens being the candidate in the general election," he explained.

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