Republican Eric Greitens, trailing in both money and the polls in the race for governor, said Saturday voter enthusiasm for change and disgust with career politicians will propel him past Attorney General Chris Koster, the Democratic nominee.
Greitens visited his local office on East Ash Street to kick off his fall campaign a few days after the release of a Monmouth University poll that shows him trailing Koster by 11 points. Greitens also is the only Republican running statewide who did not win the State Fair straw poll, released last week by the Missouri Farm Bureau.
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About 100 people packed Greitens' headquarters to hear him denounce Koster as the "the most corrupt attorney general in the country" and promise to support ethics reform to ban lobbyist gifts and make it almost impossible for former officials to work as lobbyists.
A New York Times article in November 2014 raised questions about corporate donations to state attorneys general, highlighting Koster's decision to drop an investigation of product claims by the makers of 5-Hour Energy. Greitens said the article is "Exhibit A" against Koster and an example of the depth of corruption in Jefferson City.
"We are going to let all the well-paid lobbyists and the special interest insiders know that this is not their government, it is ours," Greitens said.
The article alleged no wrongdoing and a legislative investigation led by Republicans supported his decision to drop the inquiry, Koster spokesman David Turner said. Koster responded by imposing the tightest ethics rules in the nation for his office, Turner said.
"Eric Greitens seems to have a problem with the truth," Turner said. "He is willfully distorting the attorney general's factual record."
In addition to trailing in polls, Greitens has seen groups that traditionally endorse Republicans, including the Farm Bureau and the Fraternal Order of Police, throw their support to Koster or, like Missouri Right to Life, remain neutral.
The crowds and their enthusiasm are the elements the polls don't measure, Greitens said.
"We are going to win this race by making the case to the people," Greitens said.
Greitens prevailed in a bruising four-way primary with 34.6 percent of the vote, exhausting his campaign treasury. Koster faced no serious challenge and had $10.8 million in the bank on July 21. No full reports have been filed since the Aug. 2 primary, but Koster has raised $1.2 million in donations of more than $5,000, and Greitens, with the help of $3.5 million from the Republican Governors Association, has reported raising $4 million in donations larger than $5,000.
The Libertarian Party nominated Cisse Spragins of Kansas City.
Koster is seeking the state's highest office after two terms as attorney general, one term in the state Senate and 10 years as Cass County prosecutor.
Greitens, a former Navy SEAL, is making his first bid for office after authoring four books and establishing The Mission Continues, which helps veterans transition to civilian life through public service projects.
The same poll that showed Greitens losing to Koster showed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in a virtual tie with Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. State Rep. Caleb Jones, R-Columbia, said Greitens has time to close the gap.
"This is going to be a turnout election, and I think the winner of the race is going to be the one who inspires and gets the most people out," Jones said.
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Source: Greitens draws 100 to campaign kickoff event in Columbia
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