Former Jan. 6 investigator John Wood ends independent campaign for U.S. Senate in Missouri

John Wood, a former investigator for the U.S. House Jan. 6 committee, ended his independent campaign for U.S. Senate in Missouri on Tuesday, less than two months after it began.

Wood, a former U.S. attorney, had centered his bid on the idea that both the Republican and Democratic candidates were too extreme. He entered the race with the financial backing of former Sen. John Danforth, who embodies the fading old-school Republican establishment and feared embattled former Gov. Eric Greitens would win the general election.

Wood, 52, had upended his life in order to run: leaving his prestigious post on the Jan. 6 Committee, finding an apartment in Kansas City and enrolling his children in school in Missouri. His campaign gathered more than twice the number of signatures Wood needed to qualify for the Nov. 8 general election ballot, delivering 22,000 signatures to the Missouri Secretary of State John Ashcroft’s Office earlier this month.

But voters rejected Greitens in the Aug. 2 Republican primary, instead selecting Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt.

Ashcroft’s office was preparing to certify Wood’s spot on the November ballot by the end of the day Tuesday, but the office received a request from Wood to withdraw his petition, said JoDonn Chaney, a spokesman for Ashcroft.

Schmitt, who has won previous statewide campaigns for Missouri treasurer and attorney general, will face Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine, a St. Louis philanthropist, in the general election.

In his short campaign, Wood never appeared to achieve significant notoriety and much of the impetus behind his decision to run evaporated when Republicans didn’t nominate Greitens.

“I made the decision to run for the United States Senate when Eric Greitens was the favorite for the Republican nomination. That would have been unacceptable, embarrassing, and dangerous for my party, my state, and my Country,” Wood posted on Twitter Tuesday.

“I believed Missouri voters deserved a truly principled, conservative choice this November and so did more than 22,000 Missourians who helped secure my position on the ballot. Circumstances have changed.”

Wood’s decision to drop out represented a stunning turnaround for the candidate, who less than two weeks ago was making the case for his continued relevancy in the race despite Greitens’ loss.

“That equation is taken out of it, but the message that I have is really the same,” Wood said earlier this month. “I think aside from those personal flaws of Greitens, I don’t really see much difference between Schmidt and Greitens. They’re both on embracing the extreme divisive rhetoric and symbolism.”

Danforth had pledged to spend $20 million promoting Wood’s candidacy. Federal Election Commission records show he gave at least $5 million to a PAC boosting Wood.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said Wood’s exit from the race needed to happen.

“Now, if Senator Danforth is concerned with the direction of the country and his party, I assume he will support Trudy Busch Valentine,” Lucas said in a tweet.

In a statement, Danforth said he understood and sympathized with Wood’s decision but was disappointed. Still, he acknowledged that the path for Wood to win had become “exceedingly narrow” with Schmitt as the GOP nominee.

Danforth didn’t endorse Busch Valentine, saying instead that voters had “no good options” in the race. But Danforth made clear he wouldn’t support Schmitt, saying the Missouri attorney general had a “great and eager champion” of the “Big Lie” that former President Donald Trump won the 2020 election. In the wake of the 2020 election, Schmitt supported a baseless lawsuit that sought to overturn President Joe Biden’s victories in key swing states.

“In my book that’s disqualifying. It also means that neither Trump nor Schmitt can justifiably call themselves a Republican, let alone a conservative Republican. They are both radicals,” Danforth said.

Schmitt didn’t immediately comment on Wood’s withdrawal from the race.

Busch Valentine said in a statement she was the only candidate in the race focused on “real issues that matter” to Missourians.

“I invite any independent-minded Missourian who’s interested in defending and protecting the future of our democracy to join my campaign. I’ll be nobody’s Senator but yours,” Busch Valentine said in a statement.

James Harris, a Jefferson City-based Republican consultant, said the only role Wood would have played in the race would have been a spoiler — siphoning votes away from the other two candidates.

“I think it was a wise move, as John Wood really had no path to success,” Harris said.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.