Former President Donald J. Trump slammed Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s U.S. Senate campaign Sunday night over a poll that Republican strategists told Breitbart News undercounts Trump’s support in the Show Me State to boost Schmitt’s numbers.
“Wow, great dishonesty in politics. Too bad!” Trump wrote of the Remington Research Group poll — commissioned by operatives associated with the Schmitt campaign — in a Truth Social post. Remington was launched by the political consulting firm Axiom Strategies, which was founded by Jeff Roe — Schmitt’s top consultant.
With voters hitting the ballots in less than 36 hours, Trump’s Truth Social post indicates it is highly unlikely he will endorse the attorney general in the race. Having already previously announced that he would not support Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO) and telling voters they “can forget about” her, only one candidate seems to be in contention for his backing: former Gov. Eric Greitens (R-MO).
In the poll, Trump received 42 percent of the response for the 2024 Republican primary, putting him above Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) at 18 percent and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) at six percent. Another 17 percent supported other candidates, while the remaining 17 percent backed other potential candidates. But three Republican strategists told Breitbart News that Trump’s lead is even more impressive and said the poll was false. Some suggested it is purposefully disingenuous to show Schmitt leading his opponents.
Missouri Attorney General and Republican Senate candidate Eric Schmitt speaks to supporters in Hall Pavilion at Englar Park on July 31, 2022, in Farmington, Missouri. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
“This is a completely fake poll commissioned by the RINO establishment who are looking to move on from President Trump,” a national Republican operative who advises candidates in both Missouri and Florida among other places, told Breitbart News. “There is no way Missouri, a deep Trump state, would ever vote for someone like Ron DeSantis. President Trump is dominating the state and every other state in the country.”
“President Trump is way higher in Missouri than this poll states, and everyone knows it,” a second GOP strategist told Breitbart News. “Clearly, something funky is going on in Missouri with people trying to undermine Trump’s return to the White House. Take this with a very big grain of salt.”
The poll shows Schmitt leading the field at 34 percent, followed by Hartzler at 22 percent, and Greitens at 18 percent.
The second strategist added:
If this poll accurately measured Trump’s 2024 support and had it where it really is not where Schmitt needs it to be to make it appear as though he is leading, that means something like 20 or more points need to move towards Trump from this survey’s published results—and that means Greitens would jump significantly higher and Schmitt would fall. In addition, Hartzler’s number is far too high for this survey to be accurate. When Trump announced he was not going to be supporting her, crowds evaporated from her events and nobody went to them anymore. In reality, the field is probably currently Greitens in the low 30s in the lead by a few points, Schmitt in second somewhere in the high 20s, and Hartzler down in the low double digits or high single digits. And in reality, Trump’s support is far north of 65 percent and maybe even north of 70 percent—which is proof the pollster altered these numbers for some ulterior motive.
“Something is off about these numbers, and you have to wonder why,” a third strategist told Breitbart News.
“Perhaps it is because the only way Schmitt’s team can alter a poll to make it look like they are in the lead in Missouri’s Senate primary days from the election is by kneecapping Trump and boosting perceived potential rivals in a looming 2024 bid,” the strategist added.
An Excalibur Strategies survey obtained exclusively by Breitbart News showed Greitens at 34 percent, Schmitt at 30 percent, and Hartzler at 21 percent as of Friday night.
