The race for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Missouri heated up on Saturday when Sen. Josh Hawley endorsed Rep. Vicky Hartzler. The announcement came during the state Republican party’s Lincoln Days in St. Charles.
“For almost a year I’ve been asked who I intend to vote for in #MOSEN primary this August. Well, I’ve made up my mind. I’ll be supporting @VickyHartzlerMO. Vicky has the integrity, the heart, and the toughness to represent MO. I can’t wait to work with her,” Hawley tweeted, according to “The Hill.”
For almost a year I’ve been asked who I intend to vote for in #MOSEN primary this August. Well, I’ve made up my mind. I’ll be supporting @VickyHartzlerMO. Vicky has the integrity, the heart, and the toughness to represent MO. I can’t wait to work with her pic.twitter.com/yIk4h2baxw
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) February 12, 2022
Hartzler, who lives in Cass County just south of the Kansas City metro, thanked Hawley for his endorsement in her own post on Twitter.
“Josh @HawleyMO is a fearless, unapologetic conservative leader in the U.S. Senate, & I am honored to have earned his endorsement,” she tweeted. “We need another CONSERVATIVE voice in the Senate, & Josh knows I am the best choice to fight for an America First agenda & fight for Missourians!!”
READ: Hartzler talks with Metro Voice about family, faith, politics
Hartzler announced in June that she would be running for retiring incumbent Roy Blunt’s seat. Since 2011, she has represented the state’s 4th Congressional District after she won in an upset against 17-term incumbent Democratic Rep. Ike Skelton. On her campaign website, Hartzler has touted her 2010 election cycle upset and her support for former President Trump‘s policies and conservative issues such as border security and gun rights, among other points. Polls show her as a very popular contender and she is the frontrunner in fundraising.
Other Republican candidates seeking Blunt’s seat include state Attorney General Eric Schmitt, former Gov. Eric Greitens, Rep. Billy Long and attorney Mark McCloskey, who last year gained notoriety after he and his wife were seen waving firearms at Black Lives Matters demonstrators.
Cook Political Report’s latest Senate race ratings for the upcoming 2022 midterm rates Blunt’s seat as “solid Republican.”
Both Hartzler and Hawley have been polling strongly, even as political analysts say the media has attempted to draw away voters after the 2020 election results were questioned.
