Republican Eric Schmitt Wins Missouri Senate Race

Schmitt was a front-runner in the race, holding a double-digit lead in most polls in the week leading up to Election Day.
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Republican Eric Schmitt is projected to win the Missouri Senate race, defeating Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine.

Republicans perceived the Senate seat to be reliably red. Schmitt was a frontrunner in the race, holding a double-digit lead in most polls in the week leading up to Election Day.

Former President Donald Trump endorsed Schmitt in August, saying he trusted Missourians “to make up their own minds, much as they did when they gave me landslide victories in the 2016 and 2020 elections.”

Schmitt, who’s served as Missouri’s attorney general since 2019, issued an opinion mere moments after Roe v. Wade was overturned in June that notoriously triggered an abortion ban, making Missouri one of the first states to enact trigger laws in a post-Roe era.

“I will continue to fight to protect all life, born and unborn,” he said in a statement following the release of the opinion.

Abortions have been a focus of Busch Valentine’s campaign. She argues politicians have “no place in criminalizing and limiting health care that doctors can provide” and has vowed to work with the Senate to restore abortion protection.

Busch Valentine had criticized Schmitt for his votes as a state senator, and the two sparred over the rules and format of debates leading up to the election.

Schmitt did not attend the first forum of Senate candidates, which was not televised, in September, as he said he only wanted to participate in nationally televised debates during prime time. On Sept. 6, Missouri news outlet FOX4 invited the candidates to a prime time debate with Missouri’s Nexstar stations.

The two continued to spar over debate participation, ultimately failing to face off publicly one last time before Election Day.

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