Missouri Senate: Show Me the Nominee
Republicans need to gain just a single seat to regain the Senate majority, but they have limited takeover opportunities and can’t afford to lose any of their own seats because of self-inflicted problems. Missouri has the potential to become a flashpoint for the GOP next year, with major implications for control of Congress.
With the U.S. Senate evenly divided 50-50, President Joe Biden’s ability to pass legislation and make appointments to administration positions and judgeships hangs on a single vote. While the GOP is only growing more confident about its chances to win the House majority next year, the 2022 Senate map presents the party with a challenge.
There are just four vulnerable Democratic seats, all in states won by Biden last year. And there are also four vulnerable GOP-held seats, two of which are also in states won by Biden in 2020. And 2018, when Democrats rode a wave to the House but dropped two Senate seats, demonstrated that even a strong political environment doesn’t always translate across chambers.
The last thing the GOP needs as they try to thread that needle is for another state that should be an easy hold to come onto the battlefield.
But that’s a real possibility in Missouri, where Sen. Roy Blunt’s surprise retirement opened a potential path for disgraced former Gov. Eric Greitens to be the GOP nominee. Greitens’ extensive personal baggage, stemming from a whirlwind of accusations of sexual assault and financial impropriety that forced…
