Missouri Rep. Billy Long (R-Mo.) is going after a seat in the state’s upcoming U.S. Senate race, the GOP congressman said on Tuesday.
“I am entering the race for the United States Senate. I followed Roy Blunt into the House, I have his congressional seat,” Long declared as he announced his candidacy on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show. “I want to follow him into the Senate,” he added.
Long joins a growing list of candidates in the 2022 primary race to replace Blunt, a Republican who confirmed his retirement in March after serving more than a decade in the U.S. Senate.
The former auctioneer and radio host who was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2010 said he sees himself as an electable contender while expressing urgency for the GOP to “get the Senate back” and “fight back against this craziness going on.”
“The ludicrous things they are doing to our country,” Long stated. “The Constitution is out and communism, socialism is in.”
“We need to get the Senate back, you’re not going to get anything until you get the Senate back, and I’m the guy that can win that Senate seat in Missouri and make sure that we don’t have a big race there,” he said.
The 65-year-old congressman is running along with attorney Mark McCloskey, who recently pleaded guilty to several misdemeanor charges after he and his wife wielded guns last year to defend their home from activists who walked through their private gated neighborhood. The couple were pardoned by Gov. Mike Parson on Tuesday.
Parson said last year that he would “without a doubt” pardon the couple when they were dealt felony charges by St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner. The governor called the felony charges “outrageous.”
Other GOP candidates include former Gov. Eric Greitens, who left office in 2018 after being accused of sexual assault, along with Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and state Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler.
The declared candidates on the Democratic side are Air Force veteran and small business owner Jewel Kelly; retired Marine Corps officer Lucas Kunce; former Sen. Scott Sifton (D-Mo.); activist Tim Shepard; and entrepreneur Spencer Toder.