Trump hangs over the GOP race for Missouri attorney general. Will he endorse his lawyer?
Will Scharf, a Republican candidate for Missouri attorney general, quickly got to the point at the start of a recent candidate forum.
“Currently, I have one client. His name is Donald J. Trump and I have fought for him in courtrooms across America all the way up to the United States Supreme Court,” Scharf told a Springfield audience last week.
Scharf, a former federal prosecutor, is part of Trump’s legal team. He has worked on the former president’s appeals of gag orders in his criminal cases, as well as Trump’s pitch that he enjoys presidential immunity from prosecution. The Supreme Court will likely rule on the immunity question in the coming weeks.
Trump looms over Republican primary contests across America, as candidates battle to demonstrate loyalty and support for the former and potentially future president. Many Republican candidates would love to have his endorsement.
But Trump features in the Missouri attorney general’s race to an unusual degree. Few, if any, candidates currently work for the former president.
Trump faces felony charges in four cases, including an ongoing trial in New York over allegations of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to a porn star, as well as charges related to seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election. GOP candidates – including in Missouri – have dismissed the prosecutions. Multiple polls show Trump leading in key battleground states, as well as in Missouri.
Since joining Trump’s legal team in October, Scharf has made his singular client a key focus of his campaign. He appears regularly on Fox News to make the pitch that Trump has done nothing wrong and slams the fines against Trump for violating a gag order as unconstitutional.
Scharf, a policy director under former Gov. Eric Greitens, is attempting to unseat Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a Republican appointed to office in January 2023 by Gov. Mike Parson. Bailey was Parson’s top legal counsel before the governor named him to the position after Eric Schmitt resigned to join the U.S. Senate.
Missouri is solid Trump – and Republican – country. Trump won 56.8% of the vote in both 2016 and 2020. Republicans hold every statewide office and legislative supermajorities. The party controls six of eight congressional seats.
Scharf’s work for Trump has raised questions about whether the former president will endorse him in the primary. Whoever wins the GOP primary will face Democrat Elad Gross, a St. Louis civil rights attorney.
“They used to say ‘all politics is local,’ and now they’ve become so nationalized and this race in particular has become nationalized,” said Jean Evans, a former executive director of the Missouri Republican Party.
“This is more of a national race than probably any other race we have going on.”
Battling to show loyalty
Very little daylight is apparent between Scharf and Bailey on the issues. Both speak of opposing transgender athletes competing in women’s sports and other trans rights. They both emphasize the need for the attorney general to protect the rights of Missourians. And both say, falsely, that the 2020 election was stolen.
With few sharp policy differences, the two candidates are trying to outfox each other in their support for Trump.
Bailey filed a brief with the Supreme Court supporting Trump’s immunity case, one of at least seven amicus briefs the attorney general has filed in support of the former president over the past year and a half. He has also criticized New York Attorney General Letitia James for efforts to enforce a civil fraud judgment against Trump.
Bailey’s campaign and official X accounts have mentioned Trump in more than 40 posts since the start of the year. Like Scharf, he has appeared multiple times on Fox News and other conservative media to defend the former president.
Earlier this month, Bailey sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice demanding documents and other information related to the prosecutions of Trump. He said his office had reason to believe the DOJ “is the headquarters of the illicit prosecutions against President Trump.”
“In order to protect the rights of all Missouri voters who plan to participate in the 2024 presidential election, the State of Missouri has the right to know to what extent the prosecutions of a prominent presidential candidate are being coordinated by the federal government, which is currently run by President Trump’s principal political opponent,” Bailey wrote in the letter.
Bailey’s campaign declined to comment on the record. When Bailey endorsed Trump in May 2023, he wrote on X that it was “time America has a fighter back in the White House who puts our country first!”
Scharf has played a role in several Trump cases. In addition to his work on appealing the gag orders and involvement in the presidential immunity case, Scharf is involved in the appeal of the New York civil fraud case. In February, a judge ruled that Trump had lied about his wealth and ordered him to pay $454 million; Trump managed to post a $175 million bond to halt collection during his appeal.
Scharf is also involved in appealing the writer E. Jean Carroll’s civil victories over Trump. Last year, a jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll in 1996 and awarded her $5 million. Trump has since been ordered by a judge to pay an additional $83 million after he continued to attack the advice columnist.
“I think Missouri Republican primary voters appreciate the work that I’m doing for President Trump and I think know, based on how hard I’ve been fighting for President Trump, I’m always going to fight and win for them,” Scharf said.
Most Republican attorneys general and candidates are on the “Trump train,” said Paul Nolette, a professor who has studied state attorneys general and is the director of Marquette University’s Les Aspin Center for Government. But having a candidate with a direct link to Trump elevates the former president’s role in the race, Nolette said.
“One thing that certainly Trump has always elevated to probably the most important thing is loyalty and that seems to be part of Scharf’s message here: that even though Bailey might be quite conservative, well, we know who’s really loyal to Trump,” Nolette said.
No concerns supporting Trump
Little public polling on the race is available. Bailey’s campaign reported having $564,025 on hand as of March 31, according to campaign finance reports. Scharf’s campaign reported having $824,117.
Liberty and Justice, a PAC supporting Bailey, had $1.2 million on hand at the end of March. Club for Growth Action - Missouri Federal Committee, which is supporting Scharf, had $2.1 million and has been running a TV ad emphasizing Scharf’s work for Trump.
“They’re going to spend two months running to the right, just getting as far right as possible,” said Mark Johnson, a Kansas City-based attorney who has worked on election-related matters. “And even if they don’t get endorsements from Trump, I think they’re going to find reasons to go to Mar-a-Lago, at least get their picture taken there.”
The Missouri attorney general is often called the state’s chief law enforcement officer. Scharf and Bailey have shown little concern that associating themselves so closely with Trump – who could soon be convicted of a felony in New York – risks the office’s reputation and credibility.
Scharf called the criminal cases against Trump an “absolutely outrageous abuse” of the legal system when asked about whether his support of the former president would undercut his ability to serve as attorney general.
Nolette said Republican attorneys general have typically not seen any contradiction between their role and supporting Trump. Instead, they have cast the cases as politically motivated.
Trump’s influence over GOP races is unusual for a former president. While former President Barack Obama has supported candidates after leaving office, Trump has endorsed in a wide array of races in recent years.
Those endorsements are even more unusual this year because Trump, as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is the de facto leader of the Republican Party. Typically – but not always – parties remain neutral in primary contests. Trump’s endorsements in some instances can be seen as effective party endorsements.
“Trump is more of a movement leader, he’s not the same presidential nominee that you normally see,” said Greg Vonnahme, a political science professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
‘Those endorsements matter’
Whether Trump will endorse in the Missouri attorney general’s race remains an open question. Trump in 2024 appears to have so far only endorsed in one statewide executive race, choosing U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop in the North Carolina attorney general’s race.
Schmitt, the U.S. senator, said Trump’s endorsement is “big in any race.”
“I do think those endorsements matter. I have no clue if he’s trying to endorse in that race or not,” said Schmitt, who has endorsed Bailey.
Scharf said he had spoken to Trump about his campaign, but wouldn’t speculate about whether the former president will endorse.
“He’s obviously very aware that I’m a candidate for office and I think every Republican candidate in the country would love to have President Trump’s endorsement,” Scharf said.
The Trump campaign didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Evans, the former Missouri Republican Party executive director, said the attorney general’s race is drawing significant attention despite its status as a down ballot race. Voters in August will be sorting through a competitive primary for governor and, in some areas of the state, competitive congressional primaries as well.
She attributed the focus on the attorney general’s race to Trump’s presence in the news every day. With 75 days until the primary election, it’s a “toss up” who will win, Evans said, adding that she believes Bailey has the edge while Scharf has momentum.
As for what Trump will do, Evans thinks Trump will endorse Scharf.
“I mean, my gut says he will,” Evans said, “but I’m not an accurate predictor of what Donald Trump is going to do.”
The Star’s Daniel Desrochers contributed reporting
