MO: Eric Schmitt (R)

REPLACING:

Roy Blunt (R)[i]

WORK HISTORY:

State of Missouri (Attorney General); Lathrop & Gage (Partner); Missouri State Senate (State Senator, District 15); City of Glendale (Alderman); State of Missouri (Treasurer)[ii]

EDUCATION:

BA, Truman State University; JD, Saint Louis University[iii]

CAMPAIGNED ON:

A Proven Record; Holding China Accountable; Protecting America Through Biosecurity; Taking On Big Tech; Election Integrity; Protecting America First; Saving Our Jobs; Keeping Your Family Safe; Supreme Court Justices; Religious Freedom; Fighting Cancel Culture[iv]

ON THE ISSUES

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS:

Following the US Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, Schmitt’s office issued an opinion to the Missouri Revisor of Statutes that “triggered” parts of the state’s HB 126, effectively ending abortion in the state. He said of the action, “My Office has been fighting to uphold the sanctity of life since I became attorney general, culminating in today’s momentous court ruling and attorney general opinion. I will continue the fight to protect all life, born and unborn.”[v]

ECONOMY, JOBS & TAXES:

On his campaign website, Schmitt reiterates his support for President Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act as well as that administration’s efforts to “reduce needless and burdensome regulations.”[vi] As a state senator, Schmitt successfully co-sponsored bills cutting state income taxes and limiting municipal revenues from traffic fines and court penalties in response to police violence demonstrations in Ferguson in 2014.[vii]

HEALTHCARE & SOCIAL SAFETY NET:

In June 2020, Schmitt’s office joined a lawsuit stemming from an antitrust investigation into price-fixing by generic drug manufacturers, pledging to “hold these pharmaceutical companies accountable.”[viii] He has touted his record on “[taking] on” Big Insurance [and] Big Pharma,” and described the Affordable Care Act as a “disaster for Missouri families and businesses.”[ix] [x]

IMMIGRATION & BORDER SECURITY:

As Missouri Attorney General, Schmitt helped lead the effort to block the Biden administration from rescinding Title 42, a Trump-era public health order used to quickly expel migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic.[xi] He has also attacked the administration for “emboldening convicted sex offenders and human traffickers to cross our borders,” and argued “it’s time to secure the border, stop human trafficking and defeat the drug cartels.”[xii] [xiii]

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY:

Schmitt has said calls to defund the police “are incredibly irresponsible and reckless as violent crime rages on in our cities,” and argued that public safety challenges “are best solved when law enforcement & our communities work together.”[xiv] [xv] He is endorsed by the Missouri Fraternal Order of Police.[xvi]

GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS & ELECTION SECURITY:

Schmitt was included in The Washington Post’s list of election deniers running for office.[xvii] He was an active participant in the legal fight to overturn the 2020 presidential election, including joining Texas in its attempt to compel the US Supreme Court to intervene.[xviii] As Vice Chairman of the Republican Attorneys General Association, Schmitt also reportedly oversaw the spending of $150,000 in robocalls encouraging Republicans to go to Washington to “Stop the Steal.” More recently, he has chastised the US Department of Justice for enforcing the Espionage Act in the Mar-a-Lago raid.[xix] On his campaign website, Schmitt argues “glaring illegal actions involving our sacred elections surfaced” during the 2020 election.[xx]

EDUCATION:

As Missouri Attorney General, Schmitt has engaged in numerous battles with local school districts, including over rules requiring students to wear masks in class, for allegations that schools were hiding critical race theory curriculums, and that some districts were conducting “personal, invasive surveys” into income levels and including “racially-biased questions.”[xxi] He has also sued the Biden administration for its executive order on student loan forgiveness.[xxii] Schmitt touts his record as Treasurer of Missouri, during which he expanded eligibility for the Missouri Education Savings Plan to include K-12 education.[xxiii]

CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT:

On his campaign website, Schmitt decries President Biden for cancelling the Keystone XL Pipeline, and for “circumventing the constitution” to set a social cost on greenhouse gases. In March 2021, Schmitt joined 20 state attorneys general in suing the administration for cancelling Keystone XL permits, arguing Biden’s move would “kill jobs, burden Missourians with higher energy costs […] and increase our reliance on foreign oil.”[xxiv] [xxv]

BIG TECH & DATA PRIVACY:

Schmitt’s campaign platform includes “taking on big tech,” citing Facebook “cancelling conservatives” and Google “using their platform to take advantage of consumers and businesses.”[xxvi] In July 2022, Schmitt’s office sued the federal government (including the CDC, the FBI, and the White House), alleging suppression of disfavored speakers on YouTube, Meta, and Twitter that violates the First Amendment of the US Constitution.[xxvii] [xxviii]

GUN SAFETY:

Schmitt has pledged to stand up for the Second Amendment and “every individual’s God given right to self defense.” He has an A+ rating from the NRA and is endorsed by Gun Owners of America and the National Association for Gun Rights.[xxix] [xxx]

FOREIGN POLICY:

In April 2020, Schmitt sued the Chinese government and Chinese Communist Party for its “role in the COVID-19 pandemic,” and to “hold the Chinese authorities accountable for unleashing [the virus.]”[xxxi] His campaign platform pledges to “not shy away from any battle, even if it means suing an entire nation for wrongdoing.”[xxxii] He has suggested opposition to continuing military and economic aid to Ukraine.[xxxiii]