ST. LOUIS, Mo. – U.S. Senate candidate Mark McCloskey sat down with The Heartlander to discuss his campaign, how he’s feeling about the race and the policy issues closest to him, among other things.
McCloskey and his wife, Patti, were launched into national headlines last summer after rioters broke into their private community. They stepped outside holding firearms to defend themselves and their property but their efforts to stand up to the horde of protestors caused a whirlwind of national attention.
After his encounter with the protestors, the St. Louis attorney became a rather prominent and vocal Second Amendment advocate. He started speaking at various conservative events and traveled as a “Trump surrogate” to some of the former president’s campaign rallies.
Throughout his time speaking and campaigning, McCloskey said it became “crystal clear” that running for office was something he was “called upon to do”.
After seeing the chaos that ensued throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and the “unconstitutional lockdowns” that occurred, McCloskey and his wife felt the timing was right.
“I figured at some point in our lives, FEMA would declare some kind of faux emergency and tell us we were all under house arrest,” he told The Heartlander. “Tell us that we couldn’t go to church, couldn’t go to school, couldn’t even go to the hospital to see our own parents die. However, I figured they would have to hold a gun to our heads to get us to comply.
“But then a year ago the government just said it, and almost everybody just did it,” he continued. “They just laid down and complied, even if it meant the loss of their businesses and livelihoods. What greater test of how much power the government has and how sheepish the population has become – and we all failed that test.”
While St. Louis County lockdowns continued to keep businesses closed, high crime rates ensued across the city without much attention from the county prosecutor. According to McCloskey, this is what helped solidify his top priority on the campaign: law and order.
“The city of St. Louis is one of the most dangerous cities in the country,” he said. “So what does our prosecutor want to do? Defund the police, along with the Mayor.”
“Prosecuting attorneys like Kim Gardner think that we should just declare entire areas of criminal law as no longer criminal. And she somehow thinks that this ‘wokeness’ will improve everyone’s lives despite seven decades of evidence to the contrary in St. Louis.”
Since announcing his candidacy in May, McCloskey has been traveling across the state and campaigning at as many events as he can.
“We hit every event that we get invited to and the ones that are open to the public, whether we’re invited or not,” he said. “If we’re not traveling, we’re doing some kind of radio, television or podcast. I’m trying to get out there everyday.”
“We’ve received tremendous grassroots support so far,” he later added.
Over July 4 weekend, the McCloskeys went to events in Farmington, Vernon County, Wentzville and attended the O’Fallon Freedom Fest. They also visited Jefferson County earlier this week and plan to attend Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s Faith and Freedom rally on Saturday.
Even though McCloskey is “booked just about every night” with events, he says he is still getting used to the campaign scene.
“The biggest problem is that I’ve never campaigned or been a politician before,” he said. “I need to let the voters of Missouri see who I am and what I have to say. Ultimately, if they like what I have to say, they’ll elect me to the Senate. And if they don’t elect me, I don’t need to be there.”
As McCloskey and the rest of the Senate candidates continue to campaign over the next 13 months, Missourians can expect some of the other rumored candidates to announce their decision soon.
