Former Jan. 6 committee counsel drops independent bid for Senate in Missouri

The former counsel to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection said Tuesday he was dropping his independent bid for U.S. Senate in Missouri.

John Wood, a former federal prosecutor who served as counsel to Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), the vice chair of the committee, said in a release there is “no realistic path to victory” for him as an independent candidate. 

He said he made the decision to run for the seat when Eric Greitens, who resigned as governor in 2018 amid scandal and whose ex-wife accused him this year of abuse, appeared to be the favorite for the Republican nomination.

Instead, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt won the Republican nomination earlier this month. Schmitt will face Democrat Trudy Busch-Valentine, an heiress from the Anheuser-Busch brewing company’s founding family, in the race to succeed outgoing Sen. Roy Blunt (R). 

Wood said he believes he could have defeated Greitens, but the former governor is not on the ballot. 

“Many Missourians, as well as Americans across the country, have expressed their support for the noble causes of uniting our Country, defending democracy and protecting our Constitution,” Wood said. “While my candidacy is ending, my commitment to these causes endures.” 

He said his campaign was inspired by the example set by Cheney, former President Reagan and former Sen. Jack Danforth (R-Mo.), who supported Wood’s candidacy. 

Danforth said in a statement that he understands Wood’s decision to drop out, given that Schmitt’s victory for the GOP nomination made Wood’s electoral path “exceedingly narrow.” 

He said he is disappointed, and voters should be too as they are left with “no good options.” He said Wood best understands that state and national politics have gone down a toxic path. 

“But this has never been about one man running for one office in one year,” Danforth said. “We will find other means to deliver the message that for all of our differences we are one people.”