Greitens adds Missouri governor nomination to long resume
Navy SEAL officer, Rhodes scholar, White House fellow, boxer and martial arts expert, humanitarian to homeless children and war refugees, best-selling author and founder of a nonprofit that helps that military veterans find jobs.
Greitens, making his political debut as a self-described conservative outsider, won a hard-fought, four-way Republican primary Tuesday for the right to take on Democratic Attorney General Chris Koster in the Nov. 8 general election.
Greitens, 42, of St. Louis, traveled on humanitarian missions around the world — documenting the lives of street children in Bolivia and refugees from genocidal wars in Bosnia, Rwanda and Zaire — before joining the Navy in 2001, just months before the Sept. 11 attacks.
On Tuesday night, he again touted his aim to "clean up Jefferson City" by banning gifts from lobbyists, closing the revolving door between legislators and lobbyists and backing term limits for all statewide elected offices.
Koster took a subtle jab at Greitens on Tuesday, denouncing a "disturbing political campaign" season that has featured "candidates shooting machine guns and doing sit-ups for the cameras."
Koster pledged "careful, thoughtful leadership" that includes more funding for public schools, roads and health care.