Obviously, not every allegation in a contentious divorce is true, but it is notable that both Greitens’s former mistress and his former wife agree that he is a violent lout.

It is not as though Greitens is already a general-election candidate, so the choice isn’t between him as a desperately flawed candidate and a Democrat who represents everything that Republicans oppose. There are good and viable alternatives to the Greitens train wreck.

Both Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler and Attorney General Eric Schmitt would be fine senators who would serve Missourians well. For our money, Schmitt is the best choice. His record is strong, and his performance in polling indicates he has a better chance than Hartzler of ensuring a Greitens defeat. He also looks better in polling against potential Democratic opponents than Hartzler, and much better than Greitens.

Greitens maintains that he’s the surest bet for conservatives, but the fact remains that he almost ran for Congress as a Democrat in 2010, and the co-founder of Greitens’s old nonprofit, a Democrat, told a local newspaper that he donated to the Greitens campaign because he wanted a “pro-choice” governor in office, regardless of party.