Before the actual November midterm election, and even before the Aug. 2 Senate GOP primary in Missouri, the race is on to secure the attention and potential endorsement of former President Donald Trump.
An internal campaign poll from former Missouri GOP Gov. Eric Greitens might just do that, the Washington Examiner reported Monday, showing him with a 7-point lead.
Greitens' campaign poll results:
- Greitens 26%.
- Rep. Vicky Hartzler 19%.
- State Attorney General Eric Schmitt 14%.
- Rep. Billy Long, R-Mo., 7%.
- Mark McCloskey 5%.
There are still 27% of likely Missouri Senate GOP primary voters undecided.
McCloskey has been a staunch supporter of Trump, even speaking at his 2020 Republican National Convention, but Greitens' polling shows him a distant fifth choice, making a Trump endorsement less likely at this point.
Greitens has political baggage to carry in the race, too, having resigned as governor in 2018 amid sexual misconduct allegations. Also, his ex-wife Sheena Greitens has levied misconduct allegations against Greitens, fueling attacks from his competitors in the race.
"This indicates the attacks and allegations lobbed his way did not do any damage to his numbers, and if they did, he's recovered in full," Greitens campaign spokesman Steven Cheung told the Examiner via text Monday.
Among the other findings highlighted by the Greitens campaign to the Examiner:
- Greitens tops Hartzler 29%-21% among "conservative-leaning" voters.
- Greitens leads Hartzler 34%-17% among voters who view Trump favorably.
- Greitens even has an edge on Hartzler 29%-20% among females.
Still, the 27% of the undecided voters loom, while 41% say they would be "more likely" to back whomever earns the Trump endorsement. Trump has not ruled out endorsing Greitens in the race, according to the Examiner.
The Greitens campaign poll was conducted May 2-4 among 806 likely Missouri GOP primary voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.48 percentage points.
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