Republican Andrew Bailey wins race for Missouri attorney general, defeating Elad Gross
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey defeated Democrat Elad Gross on Tuesday, winning a four-year term with an abrasive approach that's led the Republican official to insert himself into politically explosive fights in support of former President Donald Trump and the businessman Elon Musk.
Bailey will now have the opportunity to further reshape the state attorney general's office, after Republican Gov. Mike Parson appointed him to the position to fill a vacancy in early 2023. His general election victory, which had been anticipated, came after a bruising GOP primary contest that pitted him against one of Trump's lawyers.
Bailey was leading Gross, 58% to 39%, with about 82% of the vote counted, according to the Associated Press.
"With your continued support, we will bring transformative conservative leadership to the Show-Me State," Bailey said in a statement earlier this year. "We will defend our values, uphold the rule of law, and protect our freedoms."
Bailey has distinguished himself over his two years in office with a torrent of lawsuits, legal threats and acerbic social media posting that has gone further than his past Republican predecessors. He has championed a host of political causes dear to national Republicans and Trump supporters – while coming under withering criticism from both Democrats and some Republicans, who say he's incompetently managed the attorney general's office.
Bailey maintains the 2020 election was stolen from Trump . Months ago, he said publicly that efforts were once again underway to try to steal the 2024 election from the former president through "silencing our voices" on social media and in the mainstream media "and by packing the polling places with criminal illegal aliens that shouldn't be here in the first place."
Under his leadership, the Missouri Attorney General's Office sued Media Matters, a left-leaning media watchdog. The lawsuit came after Media Matters posted exposes about X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter that's owned by Musk.
He also filed a legal challenge against New York in an attempt to block the state from sentencing Trump before the November election. A New York jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business records earlier this year. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the request.
Gross, a St. Louis area civil rights attorney, campaigned on promises of returning normality to the office. He vowed a focus on rooting out corruption and prosecuting scammers. With his dog, Liberty Belle, often at his side at events, he also promised to shut down abusive puppy mills.
"The election for Missouri Attorney General isn't Democrat versus Republican. It's good government versus corruption," Gross said in the lead up to the vote.
On Tuesday night, Gross posted online: "I love you Missouri, and I always will."
Gross faced an uphill climb in a Republican-leaning state in a presidential election year with Trump on the ballot. Instead, much of the drama in the contest played out during the primary, when Bailey faced a challenge from Will Scharf, a former federal prosecutor and a member of Trump's legal team.
Over the course of a bitter campaign, Bailey and Scharf went head to head in a contest to demonstrate their support for Trump. Bailey easily defeated Scharf, 63% to 37%.
Bailey, who was previously Parson's top lawyer in the governor's office, proposed few new initiatives or ideas in his campaign – instead deploying the attorney general's office to launch lawsuits.
Bailey sued Washington University over its transgender center at St. Louis Children's Hospital. Last year, he attempted to use a consumer protection law to restrict gender-affirming care for both adults and kids. A judge temporarily blocked the restrictions, but Bailey withdrew the rule before a final ruling in the case.
Bailey filed numerous lawsuits against the Biden administration and was especially aggressive in opposing efforts by President Joe Biden to forgive student loan debt. The U.S. Supreme Court last year blocked a major debt cancellation plan, citing harm to Missouri.
