Missouri's Republican state treasurer Eric Schmitt will announce on Tuesday that he is not running for Senate, citing his belief that the party should unite behind a single candidate in 2018.
Schmitt's announcement, first reported by RealClearPolitics.com, further clears the Republican field for the state's attorney general Josh Hawley, who is yet to announce that he will mount a challenge to Sen. Claire McCaskill (D., Mo.).
"I believe it is time for all of us to unite behind one candidate to be the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, which is why I am supporting Attorney General Josh Hawley," Schmitt's statement says. "I am encouraging Josh to run for the U.S. Senate and have offered to help his campaign in any way I can if he chooses to challenge Claire McCaskill."
Schmitt was praised by Missouri Republicans such as former senator Jim Talent, who was unseated by McCaskill, for his decision to back Hawley.
"This act of statesmanship will unify the Party and benefit all the people of Missouri," Talent said.
Hawley has received the backing of national Republican figures, including Vice President Mike Pence, which has convinced potential candidates that their chances of defeating Hawley were slim.
Schmitt was considered to be the only other viable candidate, according to the RCP report.
Hawley, 37, took a key step toward entering the race earlier this month when he formed an exploratory committee, enabling him to raise money for a potential Senate bid. He has been aggressively recruited by national party leaders, including Vice President Mike Pence, who called Hawley last month to urge him to run.
"There is zero chance that anybody else would be our nominee if Josh indeed runs," former U.S. Sen. Jack Danforth told the Kansas City Star earlier this month. "The support for him is so strong and so broad across the spectrum of Republicans in our state that nobody would have any reasonable chance of winning."
Other would-be Republican candidates have taken the hint. Rep. Ann Wagner, who was thought to be eyeing a Senate bid, announced early last month that she would instead run for re-election to the House. [...]
Even as Hawley received the lion’s share of national attention, Schmitt had a compelling case to make to NRSC officials, having won a statewide race by a commanding margin and proving to be an adept fundraiser in the process.
McCaskill is considered to be one of the most vulnerable senators up for reelection in 2018, given that President Donald Trump carried the state by nearly 20 percentage points.
Hawley, a former clerk for Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, won the state's attorney general seat by a similar margin.