Donald Trump’s presence matters a lot in Missouri’s Republican primary for attorney general | KCUR

Both Republican candidates for Missouri Attorney General have worked in the governor’s office.

Andrew Bailey was general counsel to Governor Mike Parson when the governor appointed him attorney general.

“I served with Gov. Parson for about four years, and happened to be in the right place at the right time when my predecessor Eric Schmitt was elected to the United States Senate,” Bailey said.

Bailey is being challenged in the primary by Will Scharf, who was policy director for then-Governor Eric Greitens.

This is the first time he has run for a government position.

“Friends of mine approached me about running and said they felt it was really time to shake up Jefferson City and get more conservative outsiders, instead of establishment politicians and establishment people in office,” Scharf said.

While this is the first campaign for both candidates, Anita Manion, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, said Bailey has an advantage as a current incumbent.

“What we’ve seen over the last few years with the attorney general’s office in particular is that those office holders, whether it’s Eric Schmitt or Andrew Bailey, can really use that position and their lawsuits to get a lot of publicity and name recognition,” Manion said.

Brian Muñoz

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St. Louis Public Radio

The presence of Trump

Parson and former Attorney General and current Senator Josh Hawley have supported Bailey.

But so far, former President Donald Trump, who has ties to both candidates, has not endorsed either. Scharf is part of Trump’s legal team. Bailey has filed a lawsuit against New York on behalf of Missouri over Trump’s recent conviction there.

Bailey says Missouri can file charges because the conviction amounts to election interference.

“Their goal and ambition was never to get a legally valid conviction of the president. It was always to get him off the campaign trail, and that hurts the people of Missouri,” Bailey said.

Pair of scissors praised his representation of Trump during the campaign.

“Because I have a relationship with them to the extent that there is a conflict between Missouri and the federal government, I was hoping that it would be helpful if I could get on the phone with him, with his key advisors, and help the state of Missouri in that way,” Scharf said.

In 2022, Trump gave a vague endorsement to “Eric” in the race for U.S. Senate from Missouri. At the time, both Eric Greitens and Eric Schmitt were running for that seat.

Manion expects the candidates to emphasize the connections to Trump as often as possible.

“At this point in our political cycle, it can be a real blessing to align yourself with Donald Trump in the Republican primary. And Missouri is certainly a state that voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump,” Manion said.

Eric Lee

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St. Louis Public Radio

Bailey praises his record

Bailey said the decisions he made during his time in office have produced tangible results for Missouri.

“This is the Show-Me State, results count. We have been fighting and winning for Missourians since Day 1, and I am proud of my record,” Bailey said.

That includes his legal action to remove then-St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner in 2023, which he said was the reason she eventually resigned.

“The circumstances clearly indicate that she resigned because of the trial, because she was about to testify and have to hand over mountains of evidence,” Bailey said.

Also in 2023, He instituted emergency measures that restricted access to gender-affirming health care for transgender people in Missouri.

The rules issued by the attorney general’s office prohibit providers from offering surgeries, hormone therapy and other treatments to transgender people unless all mental health issues have been resolved, at least 15 hours of therapy have been completed and there have been three documented years of gender dysphoria.

At the time, Republican lawmakers in Missouri were working on a bill that would ban transgender minors from accessing gender-affirming care, such as puberty blockers and hormone treatments.

Bailey filed his office’s rules before the Legislature passed his bill that year. But unlike the new law, Bailey’s rules, before he repealed them in mid-May 2023, covered both children and adults.

Bailey said he has no regrets about the impact his rules have had on transgender people.

“The idea here is that we inject a level of security into a process and a practice to ensure that customers who use these products or purchase these services have all the information they need,” Bailey said.

Bailey’s office is still in a legal battle with the University of Washington Transgender Center.

Earlier this month, a St. Louis County judge ruled that the attorney general’s office did not have the right to access the personal medical records of patients at the center.

Bailey said he believes his office still has a role in gaining access to those documents.

“I think we will evaluate the court’s opinion and determine what further appeals we need to take,” Bailey said.

Scharf criticizes Bailey’s handling of office

In several ways, Scharf’s position is similar to Bailey’s, if not identical.

Scharf also opposes gender-affirming care for transgender minors.

They also both disagree with a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that ruled against Missouri and other states that sued over how far the federal government can go to crack down on social media companies’ posts. The court ruled that the states lacked standing to sue.

Bailey inherited that case when he took over the attorney general’s office.

“This was a very important First Amendment case. My opponent, Andrew Bailey, called it the most important First Amendment case in American history. And yet, instead of a victory, we have a loss,” Scharf said.

As in this specific case, Scharf criticizes Bailey for the way he has run the office versus the positions he takes on certain issues.

For example, Bailey has filed a lawsuit against Media Matters, a nonprofit organization and left-leaning research center, over its investigation into hate speech on X.

“I think we’ve seen Bailey consistently since he took office. Every time there’s an issue that gets press, that gets media attention, that’s trending on Twitter, he’ll jump on that issue, usually pretty clumsily, get a lot of media attention and then move on to the next issue,” Scharf said.

Scharf says he’s interested in what Media Matters is doing, but he’s not sure Bailey’s office is doing a thorough investigation.

There are some policy differences between the two candidates.

Scharf said he would not choose to defend three senators who are being sued for defamation over false claims they made during the shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade.

Senators Denny Hoskins, Rick Brattin and Nick Schroer are being sued by a man who The senators falsely claimed that X was responsible for the shooting.

Bailey is representing the senators in the lawsuit. Parson is against that decision.

“On this point, Governor Parson is absolutely correct. Taxpayer dollars should not be used to fund a private defense or potentially pay a private judgment in these cases,” Scharf said. “But I want to emphasize that I believe these defamation lawsuits are absolutely without merit.”

Scharf also does not believe the attorney general’s office should have a role in the Missouri Housing Development Commission, which is committed to increasing housing options for low- and middle-income residents.

“I would much rather see a professional staff and people with experience in housing, construction and finance making decisions based on what is best for Missouri,” Scharf said.

The rhetoric between the two campaigns was controversial.

Bailey describes Scharf as someone who must cater to special interests in Washington, D.C.

“This is my home, this is where I raise my children, where “He came here with a bag full of money to buy political office,” Bailey said.

Scharf said that unlike Bailey, he will not be swayed by influences within Jefferson City.

“I think Andrew Bailey is a creature of the Jefferson City establishment. He’s backed by all the lobbyists and all the special interests and all the people who really run the city,” Scharf said.

Whoever wins the August 6 primary will face Democrat Elad Gross in November.

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