For John Wood, Tuesday鈥檚 results in Missouri鈥檚 closely watched U.S. Senate primaries don鈥檛 change much about his candidacy for the post as an independent.
Wood recently turned in signatures to appear on the ballot in the race to succeed Sen. Roy Blunt. The former U.S. attorney and counsel for the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection believes he can provide a different option for voters who generally hold conservative political views but don鈥檛 like how many Republicans embraced the idea that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump.
鈥淚f the voters didn鈥檛 have an independent candidate, they would be forced to choose between on the Republican side someone who is very extreme and very divisive and an election denier,鈥� Wood said on an episode of 漏 2024 外网天堂鈥檚 Politically Speaking podcast. 鈥淎nd on the Democratic side, somebody who would support Chuck Schumer for majority leader 鈥� as well as the Biden-Schumer-Pelosi policy agenda. And that鈥檚 really out of step with what most Missourians want.鈥�
Wood launched his candidacy for the Senate earlier this year and is being backed by a political action committee spending millions of dollars. Former U.S. Sen. John Danforth endorsed Wood鈥檚 candidacy, and the Republican has appeared in television ads supporting his former aide鈥檚 bid.
Danforth said in a statement on Tuesday that "John Wood is the most qualified Senate candidate by a mile.鈥�
But with Attorney General Eric Schmitt winning the nomination, many are questioning whether Wood will have much of an impact in a race that also includes Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine. That鈥檚 because most observers felt that Wood could only change the dynamics of the contest if former Gov. Eric Greitens became the GOP nominee, since Greitens鈥� scandals may have given voters second thoughts about him.
Wood said the top three finishers in the Republican primary 鈥� Schmitt, Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler and Greitens 鈥� were 鈥渞eally running the same campaigns.鈥�
鈥淭hey were all trying to be as far right as possible,鈥� Wood said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 not so much to read into it, other than they all thought that the best way to get the nomination was to be as extreme and divisive as possible 鈥� and to try and follow in Trump鈥檚 footsteps as much as possible. So no matter which of the three ended up winning, that would have still been the same message that would come out of it.鈥�
Wood holds conservative political views
Wood emphasized that he holds fairly conservative political views. For one thing, he said the U.S. Supreme Court made the right decision in striking down Roe v. Wade, which effectively banned most legal abortions in Missouri.
He added, though, that he supports exceptions for people who are the victims of rape or incest or experiencing medical emergencies. But he stopped short of saying he supports a federal law for those exceptions everywhere, adding that he鈥檇 rather see the Missouri law amended.
Wood also said he would vote for Sen. Mitch McConnell to remain the Republican leader in the Senate. Greitens made his opposition to McConnell a focal point of his campaign, while Schmitt has said he
McConnell played a role in Missouri鈥檚 primary, to a political action committee that鈥檚 credited with beginning Greitens鈥� descent.
鈥淚 think perhaps if Greitens had become the nominee, fundraising might have been a little bit easier,鈥� Wood said. 鈥淏ecause there鈥檚 a lot of people who would have said, 鈥楨ric Greitens, given his personal baggage, can鈥檛 serve in the U.S. Senate.鈥� But the message that we鈥檙e hearing from Eric Schmitt is really the same, whether it鈥檚 Eric Schmitt or Eric Greitens.鈥�
He also said he would have been against the American Rescue Plan Act and the scuttled Build Back Better spending plan. And he likely would have voted against an infrastructure bill that the retiring Blunt supported.
鈥淚deologically, I just don鈥檛 align with the Democrats,鈥� Wood said. 鈥淚 believe in limited government. I believe in keeping taxes low. I believe in fiscal responsibility. I believe in strong law enforcement, a strong national defense, and judges who are going to interpret the law and not make the law. So I just wouldn鈥檛 fit in the Democratic Party, because I just don鈥檛 believe in the same things they do.鈥�
Can an independent candidate stand out?
Missourians have typically not embraced statewide candidates who are not part of the Republican or Democratic Party.
In 2018, independent Craig O鈥橠ear made almost no impact in the Missouri Senate race between Republican Josh Hawley and Democrat Claire McCaskill. In fact, the only non-major party candidate who got above 6% of the vote was Libertarian Jonathan Dine, who reached that threshold in 2012 when McCaskill easily defeated Republican Todd Akin.
Wood said, 鈥淭his race is different from all the other races, including Craig O鈥橠ear.鈥� In particular, he wants to compare his service on the Jan. 6 committee to unsuccessful litigation Schmitt was part of that sought to
鈥淎nd I have the support of Sen. Danforth. And that includes not just the tremendous reputational support that he brings to table, but also significant financial resources,鈥� Wood said.
Independent candidates in other states, such as Greg Orman in Kansas, started their respective campaigns much sooner than Wood did. But Wood said he has no regrets about not jumping into the contest sooner, adding that Missourians will likely be paying more attention now that the primary election is over.
鈥淥ne, the work I was doing on the January 6th committee was extremely important, and so I thought it was important that I continue to do that up until I did,鈥� Wood said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think that there would have been a lot of attention to the general election until after the primaries, no matter how early I started.鈥�
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