KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt is headed to Congress.
He won the general election Tuesday to replace returning Sen. Roy Blunt handily against Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine.
Schmitt, 47, was elected attorney general in 2018 after serving two years as state treasurer.
In recent years, Schmitt closely aligned himself with President Trump and made waves by suing counties and school districts over emergency health orders during the COVID-19 pandemic.
With his election, the last two Missouri attorneys general have gone on to win election to the U.S. Senate.
Blunt, who was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010, announced in March 2021 he would not seek re-election.
Shortly after Blunt’s decision, Schmitt announced his bid in what became a crowded field for the Republican nomination. He wound up dominating the August primary, winning from among 20 candidates that included former Rep. Vicky Hartzler and former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens.
Busch Valentine, a former nurse and Anheuser-Busch heiress, joined the race for the seat in March 2022 and edged Lucas Kunce in the Democratic primary three months ago.
She ran on a platform that included bolstering the middle class and opposing extreme abortion restrictions, like the near total ban triggered in Missouri when Roe. vs. Wade was overturned in June.
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