Ex-Missouri Gov. Greitens announces 2022 US Senate bid | News – State & Regional –

Greitens admitted to the affair (he and his wife, Sheena, divorced last year) but denied criminal wrongdoing and accused Gardner, a Democrat, of a politically motivated prosecution.

Another scandal followed in April when Gardner charged Greitens with another felony, accusing him of illegally using the donor list for his charity, The Mission Continues, to raise money for his 2016 campaign.

Meanwhile, the Republican-led Missouri Legislature began considering whether to pursue impeachment proceedings. Those discussions and the criminal charges came to an end when Greitens resigned in June 2018.

His return to public life has been gradual. He successfully sought reinstatement to the Navy, though not as a SEAL officer, in 2019. He passed out masks to first responders across the state in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic last spring. He has launched his own television show on the internet and Dish TV and is appearing often on conservative TV and radio programs.

St. Louis University political scientist Ken Warren said that despite the scandals that drove him from office, polling has shown Greitens with fierce support among about one-third of Missouri Republicans. That support might be enough for a primary win if several establishment candidates siphon votes from each other.