Missouri governor to announce his pick as new St. Louis prosecutor after Kim Gardner resignation
Republican Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Friday will announce his pick to serve out the remainder of Kim Gardner’s term as the chief prosecutor in St. Louis, following her sudden departure earlier this week.
Takeaways: Abortion backlash in Kansas, Greitens' collapse
In one of the biggest days of this year's primary campaign season, red-state Kansas rejected a measure that would have made it easier to restrict abortion, and voters in Missouri repudiated a scandal-tarred former governor seeking a Senate seat.
Ousters, upsets halfway through 2022 primary election season
More than halfway through a tumultuous primary season, voters have rendered verdicts in a number of contests, many of which featured candidates arguing they best represented a continuation of policies favored by former President Donald Trump.
GOP unity? Some aim for reconciliation after tough primaries
Two days after losing a bitter primary to a rival she once deemed a “sellout” for occasionally working with Democrats, Katie Arrington appeared at a “unity rally” to urge South Carolina Republicans to come together and back Rep. Nancy Mace in the fall general election.
Greitens RINO video spurred threats to family, lawyer says
The lawyer for the ex-wife of Missouri U.S. Senate candidate Eric Greitens says the family has been subjected to “serious threats” in the days since Greitens released a violent campaign video in which he declares he’s hunting RINOs, or Republicans in Name Only.
EXPLAINER: How platforms dealt with 'RINO hunting' video
When a GOP Missouri U.S. Senate candidate released a video Monday in which he cocked a gun after calling for a hunt of fellow Republicans who he believes are “RINOs,” or Republicans in Name Only, Facebook scraped it off its platform within a few hours.
1/6 panel lawyer urged to run for Missouri US Senate seat
Former Republican U.S. Sen. John Danforth and others are urging a former federal prosecutor who now serves as an attorney for the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection to make an independent run for one of Missouri’s Senate seats.
St. Louis prosecutor, disciplinary panel reach agreement
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner has reached an agreement with the Missouri Office of Disciplinary Counsel in which she acknowledges mistakes in her handling of the prosecution of former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens but won’t face any severe penalties for those mistakes.
GOP Missouri Attorney General Schmitt running for US Senate
FILE - In this Aug. 6, 2020 file photo, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt speaks during a news conference in St. Louis. – Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt on Wednesday announced he's making a bid to replace Roy Blunt in the Senate, setting up a Republican primary against disgraced former Gov. Voters first elected Schmitt to the state Senate in 2008 to represent a suburban St. Louis district. He was elected state treasurer in 2016, then took over as the state attorney general after Josh Hawley vacated the seat to join the U.S. Senate in 2019. He won another term as attorney general in 2020.
Is Blunt's exit an opening for ex-Gov. Greitens to return?
Greitens' political future seemed doomed by scandal when he resigned as Missouri governor. – O'Eric Greitens' political future seemed doomed by scandal when he resigned as Missouri governor. Also like Trump, Greitens defeated establishment Republicans in the primary before winning in November. Many see Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft as the early favorite to win Blunt's seat, if Ashcroft opts to run. But Missouri Republican Party Treasurer Pat Thomas said Greitens retains “a definite following” among state Republicans.
Wave of retirements signals battles ahead for Republicans
But officials in both parties agree that the surge of GOP departures will make the Republicans' challenge more difficult in the Senate. Several Missouri Republicans are expected to seek the nomination to replace Blunt, but none will be more divisive than former Gov. Ahead of Greitens' announcement, some Republicans worried that he could jeopardize the Senate seat if he emerges as the party's nominee. The former president won by the same margin in Iowa, where 87-year-old Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley is considering retirement. AdMeanwhile, Blunt predicted political success for Republicans in Missouri and beyond during a Monday news conference.
Races for governor take top billing in Missouri, Montana
FILE - In this Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020 file photo, Missouri Republican Gov. Its the most hotly contested of the nations 11 governors races this fall. Which party holds the governor's office could be especially consequential over the next few years. In governor’s races, many of the attack ads are funded by each party’s governors association. In the governor’s race, he said Gianforte’s financial support of a Montana museum dedicated to creationist beliefs was a big problem.
Missouri governor, opponent of mandatory masks, has COVID-19
– Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican who has steadfastly refused to require residents to wear masks, tested positive for the coronavirus, his office said Wednesday. On Friday, he and several other Missouri Republican candidates appeared together at an event called the “TARGET BBQ” in Springfield. Two other Republican governors also have tested positive for COVID-19, though one of those turned out to be a false positive. Kevin Stitt became the first governor to test positive in July.
St. Louis couple, in RNC speech, defend show of weapons
The McCloskey case drew Trump's attention, especially after Democratic St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner filed felony unlawful use of a weapon charges in July. A police probable cause statement said protesters feared being injured due to Patricia McCloskeys finger being on the trigger, coupled with her excited demeanor." They broke the gate down, Patricia McCloskey said on Fox & Friends." They had weapons, they had fire material.Mark McCloskey said on the Fox News program that Democrat-controlled St. Louis is a very dangerous place, and the statistics back him up. The people of St. Louis expect me to pursue equal justice under the law without fear or favor, and that is what I intend to do.Gardner, St. Louis first Black circuit attorney, was elected in 2016 and appears headed to another term.
St. Louis prosecutor chided by Trump faces primary challenge
FILE - In a Monday, Jan. 13, 2020 file photo, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner speaks in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jim Salter, File)ST. LOUIS St. Louis' top prosecutor faced a primary challenge on Tuesday after drawing criticism from President Donald Trump for filing charges against a couple who displayed guns at protesters marching near their home. Kim Gardner, the city's first Black circuit attorney, also received national attention when she filed criminal charges against Missouri's governor in 2018. She's being challenged in the Democratic primary by Mary Pat Carl, who is white and once served as the city's lead homicide prosecutor. St. Louis is overwhelmingly Democratic.
Ex-homicide prosecutor challenges St. Louis circuit attorney
FILE - In a Monday, Jan. 13, 2020 file photo, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner speaks in St. Louis. Gardner became St. Louis' first Black circuit attorney when she was elected in 2016 and has enacted a progressive, reformist agenda. (AP Photo/Jim Salter, File)ST. LOUIS The fate of St. Louis elected prosecutor may rest with which side city voters fall in two competing national debates: criminal justice reform versus the push to crack down on crime. Kim Gardner became St. Louis first Black circuit attorney when she was elected in 2016 and has enacted a progressive, reformist agenda. Bill Hall, a professor of political science at Webster University in suburban St. Louis, said everything is coalescing in Gardners re-election bid.
St. Louis couple charged for pulling guns at protest
FILE - In this June 28, 2020 file photo, armed homeowners Mark and Patricia McCloskey, standing in front their house along Portland Place confront protesters marching to St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson's house in the Central West End of St. Louis. St. Louis top prosecutor told The Associated Press on Monday, July 20, 2020 that she is charging a white husband and wife with felony unlawful use of a weapon for displaying guns during a racial injustice protest outside their mansion. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP File)ST. LOUIS St. Louis top prosecutor told The Associated Press on Monday that she is charging a white husband and wife with felony unlawful use of a weapon for displaying guns during a racial injustice protest outside their mansion. It is illegal to wave weapons in a threatening manner that is unlawful in the city of St. Louis, Gardner said. Gardner, St. Louis first Black circuit attorney, has been at odds with some in the St. Louis establishment since her election in 2016.
Hawley seeks civil rights probe in case of St. Louis couple
FILE - In this June 28, 2020 file photo, armed homeowners Mark and Patricia McCloskey, standing in front their house along Portland Place confront protesters marching to St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson's house in the Central West End of St. Louis. Sen. Josh Hawley on Thursday urged Attorney General William Barr to launch a federal civil rights investigation of St. Louis' elected prosecutor, accusing Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner of abusing her power in her investigation of a white couple who wielded guns while defending their home during a protest. The couple accused protesters of knocking down an iron gate marked with No Trespassing and Private Street signs. He said the McCloskeys had every right to protect their property.Gardner, St. Louis' first Black circuit attorney, has been at odds with some in the St. Louis establishment since her election in 2016. The McCloskeys' attorney, Albert Watkins, said they are longtime civil rights advocates and support the message of the Black Lives Matter movement.