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House Jan. 6 investigator leaving post to explore Senate run in Missouri [1]
['Susan Walsh']
Date: 2022-06
FILE—John Wood, committee investigative staff counsel, at the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol hearing at the Capitol in Washington, June 16, 2022. An effort is underway in Missouri to get Wood to run as an independent for U.S. Senate. Supporters on Monday, June 20, launched a website, and former U.S. Sen. John Danforth said he also supports a run by Wood. Danforth said in an interview that politics has become too polarized and a right-leaning centrist like Wood could set the tone for change. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) AP
One of the senior investigators for the U.S. House panel investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol is leaving his post to explore a run for U.S. Senate in Missouri as an independent candidate.
Steve Crim, a political consultant working for a political committee attempting to recruit investigator John Wood into the race, confirmed that Wood has left the House Select Committee. He said he is hoping it means Wood will officially launch a campaign.
“We deserve leaders who believe that our democracy must be held together - not torn apart by partisan politics that have divided our country for too long. John Wood embodies this principle,” Crim wrote in a statement. ”We are encouraged by John’s decision to leave the select committee on Friday as an important next step in providing Missourians a principled, common-sense choice this November.”
A spokesperson for the Jan. 6 committee said they would not comment on personnel matters when asked about Wood’s departure.
Wood is from St. Louis and served as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri between 2007 and 2009. He led some of the questioning for the Jan. 6 committee last week during a hearing about an effort to get former Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, feigned ignorance when asked about Wood’s entry to the race.
“And who is this again?” Hawley asked.
As an independent candidate, Wood would need to submit the signatures of at least 10,000 registered Missouri voters by Aug. 1, according to the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office. For comparison, ballot initiatives typically require upwards of 170,000 signatures to qualify.
The primary election is August 2.
While no committee associated with Wood has filed paperwork to run with the Federal Elections Commission, a website popped up earlier this week painting Wood as a “better choice for Missouri.”
“Missourians are facing a situation that is without precedent in our state’s history,” the website said. “We are almost certainly going to be forced to choose between two options for the United States Senate... and both of the options simply are not in line with what our state deserves.”
The effort comes as former Gov. Eric Greitens leads the Republican primary field, according to multiple polls. The Democratic primary race appears centered on a fight between former Marine Lucas Kunce and St. Louis philanthropist and beer heiress Trudy Busch Valentine.
Greitens, who resigned in 2018 amid allegations of sexual assault and blackmail, drew fresh condemnation this week after releasing a video showing him holding a shotgun and raiding a house with a crew dressed in tactical gear while hunting RINOS – Republicans in name only.
Former U.S. Sen. John Danforth, a Republican, called for a candidate to enter the race and run as an independent in February. He pointed to polling that showed that a center-right candidate could be competitive in a general election against a generic Republican and a generic Democrat.
In an interview on Wednesday, Danforth said he supports Wood running for Senate and that his PAC, Missouri Stands United, would support the campaign of any independent candidate. It’s unclear how much money the PAC has to aid a campaign. Danforth’s PAC has yet to file a report with the FEC.
Wood worked in Danforth’s Senate office for a year after he graduated from college and before he attended law school starting in 1993. He later clerked for former U.S. Court of Appeals Judge J. Michael Luttig, who testified in front of the Jan. 6 committee, and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
Danforth described him as a smart man and said he has known him for a long time – Wood’s mother is friends with Danforth’s wife.
After ending his term as U.S. attorney, Wood worked for the law firm Hughes, Hubbard and Lee. He became general counsel for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in 2018, where he served before becoming a senior investigative counsel for the Jan. 6 Committee.
Danforth said he has talked to Wood about running for office before, but not in the last two months. He said he has conversations with many people who think about running for office — one of the more notable ones is Hawley —and that it’s more of a conversation than talking anyone into running. Danforth has said he regrets boosting Hawley’s candidacy.
Traditionally, third party candidates have struggled in general elections. Often, they’re treated as spoilers and, with Greitens in the race, some Republican strategists have expressed the concern that an Independent candidate would either help a Democrat win or would make it easier for Greitens to win, depending on what constituency he builds.
The last third party candidate to be elected to the U.S. Senate from Missouri was Benjamin Gratz Brown, who served between 1863 and 1867. He was elected as an Unconditional Unionist and became a Republican in 1865.
“As far as I’m concerned, and if John is the candidate, I’m sure as far as he’s concerned, this is not an effort to be spoilers,” Danforth said. “We’re not being spoilers. We’re out to win this.”
This story was originally published June 22, 2022 3:24 PM.
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https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article262767118.html
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