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Donald Trump says he won’t endorse Vicky Hartzler in the Missouri U.S. Senate race [1]

['Michael Conroy']

Date: 2022-07

FILE - In this April 26, 2019, file photo, President Donald Trump speaks at the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action Leadership Forum in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The NRA sued San Francisco on Monday, Sept. 9, 2019, over the city’s recent declaration that the gun-rights lobby is a “domestic terrorist organization.” Democrat leaders in Congress on Monday urged Trump, a favorite of the NRA, to push Republicans to agree to expand background checks, and there have been efforts to make it easier to seize firearms at least temporarily from people who are exhibiting mental health issues. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File) Associated Press file photo

Former President Donald Trump on Friday announced that he will not endorse U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, delivering a major setback for Hartzler as she attempts to stand out in a crowded field of candidates.

Just before taking the stage for a rally in Las Vegas, Trump wrote on his social media site Truth Social that he did not believe Hartzler “has what it takes” to earn his endorsement.

“You can forget about Vicky Hartzler for Senate from the Great State of Missouri,” Trump wrote. “She called me this morning asking for my Endorsement, much as she has on many other occasions. I was anything but positive in that I don’t think she has what it takes to take on the Radical Left Democrats, together with their partner in the destruction of our Country, the Fake News Media and, of course, the deceptive & foolish RINOs.”

Asked for comment, Hartzler’s campaign pointed to a post on her Facebook page, in which she said the ultimate arbiters of the election are the voters.

“The endorsement that counts is the endorsement of the Missouri people who know I am one of them and have been fighting for them,” Hartzler wrote.

It is unclear what prompted Trump to come out against Hartzler, but the statement leaves Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and former Gov. Eric Greitens as the two most likely candidates to receive the endorsement in the final month before the Aug. 2 primary.

Polls have generally shown Greitens, Schmitt and Hartzler contending for the top spot in the crowded Republican field.

Trump has previously issued a statement of support — which he specified was not an endorsement — for U.S. Rep. Billy Long, but Long has been been running in fourth place in polling of the race.

The Missouri Republicans have been trying to win Trump’s support throughout the campaign. They’ve made pilgrimages to Mar-A-Lago, hired former Trump staffers and espoused his unfounded claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

None have gone after the endorsement as publicly as Long and Greitens. Long has shelled out more than $100,000 on campaign consulting from Kellyanne Conway and can often be found handing out fake $45 bills with Trump’s face on them in the U.S. Capitol. He has said the Trump endorsement is his best path to winning the senate race.

Meanwhile, Greitens has been actively courting Trump’s base, putting out a video saying he was hunting RINOS — Republicans in name only — and is one of few candidates who have said they would not support U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell as majority leader, which Trump has called for candidates to say.

He also hired Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former Fox News commentator, who has helped his campaign get support from her fiance, Donald Trump Jr. Greitens and the younger Trump released a video showing them shooting guns at a range and Trump has publicly said he likes Greitens because he believes the former governor has the “right people” opposing him.

While Hartzler has complimented Trump and his policies throughout the race, her campaign has not emphasized the Trump endorsement as much as some of her opponents. She won the endorsement of U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, who has served as a surrogate for her with the former president.

Hartzler was critical of Trump on January 6, 2021 when a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol. While she still objected to the certification of the election, she said Trump’s “unpresidental” speech that day made it hard to object.

This story was originally published July 8, 2022 9:32 PM.

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[1] Url: https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article263309413.html

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