KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Now that two current Missouri politicians have been elected to new offices, Gov. Mike Parson has a big decision to make.
On Tuesday, Missouri’s Republican Attorney General Eric Schmitt won the state’s open U.S. Senate seat, defeating Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine. Current U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt is retiring, which led to dozens of candidates trying to fill his spot this year.
Likewise, Missouri’s current Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick defeated Democrat Alan Green to secure the state’s auditor seat. Current auditor Nicole Galloway did not run for reelection.
Once Schmitt and Fitzpatrick take over their new offices, Missouri will have open seats in the Attorney General’s Office and Treasurer’s Office.
It will be Parson’s responsibility to appoint someone to fill both those positions until Schmitt’s and Fitzpatrick’s original terms end.
Schmitt and Fitzpatrick were both just reelected in November 2020, leaving two more years on their terms that the new appointees will complete.
Interestingly, this same thing happened in 2018 when then-Attorney General Josh Hawley was elected to Missouri’s other U.S. Senate seat.
Parson appointed Schmitt to finish Hawley’s term in the AG’s Office, and then appointed Fitzpatrick to finish Schmitt’s term in the Treasurer’s Office. Both are also former state lawmakers.
FOX4’s Capitol Bureau reached out to Parson’s office on Wednesday to ask how soon Missourians could expect these new appointments. Spokesperson Kelli Jones said the governor doesn’t have any information to release at this time.