The disgraced former governor of the Show-Me State resigned in 2018 after a woman testified under oath that Greitens tied her up in his basement, stripped her naked and took photos of her to use as blackmail in their extramarital affair — before forcing her to have oral sex with him. Greitens maintains that the exchange was consensual.

Despite that history — and despite a number of other prominent Republicans in the race — Greitens leads the pack in Missouri’s GOP primary. Party operatives know that if they want to stop him, they need to clear the field so that the anti-Greitens vote isn’t fragmented. But they’re at a loss over how to do that. None of the prominent candidates shows any sign of dropping out anytime soon…

THERE’S ONE MAN WHO THEY ALL AGREE COULD CLEAR THE FIELD. Trump won the state by 16 points, and if he backed Hartzler alongside Hawley, many think this primary would be over. But Trump feels burned by some of his previously endorsed candidates who’ve fizzled out, and has been reluctant to wade in unless he’s sure he’s backing a winner.