“Disgraced former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens is moving closer to a 2022 Senate bid, alarming top Republicans who worry he will jeopardize the party’s grip on the seat and imperil their prospects of seizing the majority. Greitens – who resigned in mid-2018, less than two years into his term, following allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman who was not his wife – has been calling around to fellow Republicans to inform them of his deliberations, and many have come away convinced he’s running. The maneuvering, which follows Republican Sen. Roy Blunt’s surprise retirement announcement last week, is giving Republicans nightmarish flashbacks to 2012, when they nominated a problematic Senate candidate, Todd Akin, who went on to lose the election.”

“The concerns have grown so serious that former President Donald Trump and those in his orbit have heard from Republicans inside and outside Missouri, who warn that Greitens would be the one GOP candidate who could lose to a Democrat, according to a person familiar with the conversations. Republican leaders say they aren’t ruling out taking aggressive steps to stop Greitens from winning the nomination, including waging a slashing advertising campaign against him. Party officials – ranging from members of the Missouri congressional delegation to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s political operation – have been united in their worry about the former governor and spent the week having conversations about the situation, according to people familiar with the discussions” – Politico.