Post-Election Recap

As predicted, Eric Schmitt took the victory in the Senate race. Schmitt took 55.5%, while Trudy Busch Valentine had 42.1% of the votes.

Image source - St. Louis Public Radio

Schmitt has had the numbers and political background in his favor throughout this race, but that didn’t discourage Valentine from putting everything she had into her campaign. Missouri is traditionally a red state with the exception of Kansas City, Columbia, and St. Louis.

As we mentioned in our last blog, this election seems to have boiled down to two major issues that could tip the scale: post-Roe v. Wade rights and inflation. Many Missourians hold passion for both issues, but ultimately the state of our economy’s inflation rate is most likely what held the most strength in this election.

Valentine’s main concern was a woman’s right to an abortion, leaving her plenty of room to attack her competitor on his position that contributed to the strictist abortion ban in Missouri. Schmitt’s campaign was effective in attacking President Biden’s progress, giving him more room to associate Valentine with Joe Biden’s agenda. Given that Biden’s approval rating has reached lower than more recent presidents by the midterms at 38% and that Missouri only holds three democratic entities, this rhetoric naturally led to Schmitt’s victory. Schmitt mentioned in his victory speech that his win “sent Joe Biden a message that enough is enough- we want our country back.”

Image source - Pew Research Center

Valentine has spent millions of dollars out of her own pocket to do everything for her campaign, and she worked incredibly hard to stay active via social media and continue traveling all across Missouri to engage with voters. Valentine mentioned that she felt discouraged in her concession speech and that this truly wasn’t the outcome that she wanted, but cordially directed at Schmitt: “I respect the will of Missourians who have put their trust in you and will be praying for the wisdom and strength for you, as you represent the great state in the United States Senate.”

Image Source- St. Louis Public Radio

We are so proud of Valentine and all of the time and effort she put into her campaign. She stayed true to herself and her values regardless of the odds being stacked against her. It’s easy to feel a little loss of hope after fighting for a candidate, but we can’t give up this fight. As Valentine tweeted after her loss, “meaningful change does not happen overnight.” We know that Valentine is still going to strive to make the changes we want to see in Missouri, and we commend her for putting on such an optimistic and hopeful campaign!