On Monday, Rep. Vicky Hartzler announced that she will not challenge Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill next year, making her the latest Missouri Republican to decide not to oppose the vulnerable senator. Hartzler will instead seek a fifth term representing the 4th Congressional District in rural western Missouri, leaving the GOP still without a notable challenger formally in the race.
However, plenty of other Republicans are interested in running against McCaskill, with most eyes turned toward recently elected state Attorney General Josh Hawley. Meanwhile, state Treasurer Eric Schmitt’s spokesperson recently confirmed for the first time that his boss “is seriously considering” a campaign. Like Hawley, Schmitt was only elected to his current post last November, but ran a formidable campaign then.
Former state Republican Party chairman Ed Martin also recently refused to rule out running, but the tea party darling’s track record of seeking elected office is less than stellar. Martin came just shy of an upset against Democratic then-Rep. Russ Carnahan in the 3rd District in the 2010 GOP wave, but lost in a landslide when he ran for state attorney general against Democratic then-incumbent Chris Koster in 2012. Furthermore, his history of controversial and bigoted statements could be a stumbling block against McCaskill; for example, he defended Trump’s immigration policies last year by saying, "You're not racist if you don't like Mexicans. They're from a nation. If you don't think Muslims are vetted enough, because they blow things up, that's not racist."