With Greitens out, independent is new challenge for Schmitt

JIM SALTER

Associated Press (AP) — Republican leaders got their wish with the defeat of former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens in the U.S. Senate primary. Now, they face another complication — a well-funding, right-leaning political newcomer who could splinter some of the Republican and independent vote in November. Attorney General Eric Schmitt pulled off a dominant win in the Republican primary. Greitens, forced by sex and campaign financial scandals to resign in 2018, didn’t even finish second. Schmitt will face Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine in November. The X factor is John Wood, a Republican running as an independent with substantial financial backing from former GOP Sen. John Danforth’s super PAC.