The Missouri Republican Party chairman broke his silence Thursday on the suicide of gubernatorial candidate and state auditor Tom Schweich (R).
“It is clear there was no whisper campaign, and it is time to move on,” state GOP Chairman John Hancock said in a lengthy statement on local radio station KMOX, where he has a semi-regular hosting gig.
Hancock added that he’d focus on unifying the state party, even as more state lawmakers called for him to step down over allegations that he’d carried out a “whisper campaign” about Schweich’s faith.
Schweich took his own life on Feb. 26, the same day he had arranged an interview with reporters to go public with accusations that Hancock had been making disparaging comments about his religion. While Schweich was Episcopalian, he said Hancock had been telling people he was Jewish.
Hancock denied those allegations immediately following Schweich’s death. His latest statement largely rehashed those earlier denials and rejected a former Schweich aide’s fresh claim that Hancock had admitted spreading misinformation about the late auditor’s faith.
The GOP chairman also released an email exchange with former U.S. Sen. John Danforth (R-MO) that offered some new insight into what the party heavyweight may have known about the alleged “whisper campaign” and when.
In the email exchange, which dates back to November, Hancock thanks Danforth for suggesting that he speak directly to Schweich about the auditor’s belief that he was spreading misinformation.
“Thanks so much for your directness today and for suggesting I speak with Tom,” Hancock wrote. “We spoke shortly after my conversation with you and, hopefully, the two of us are in a better place of understanding. However, I continue to be deeply disturbed by the allegations that I am anti-Semitic. I am not.”
Danforth responded “Thank you for our talk yesterday and for your message. I trust you and am counting on you to make us proud.”
That sentiment contrasts with the scathing eulogy Danforth gave at Schweich’s funeral, in which he railed against anti-Semitism and dirty campaign tactics in Missouri politics. In the eulogy, Danforth also rejected one of the first defenses Hancock gave to the local press: that because he had mistakenly believed Schweich was Jewish, he may have mentioned as much to someone in the same way one might say “I’m Presbyterian and somebody else is Catholic.”
Right before Hancock hit the airwaves to assure Missourians that he would not be stepping down as state Republican Party chairman, six GOP lawmakers held a news conference at the state Capitol to call for his resignation.
But a number of Republican stalwarts in the state, including former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO), issued statements of support for Hancock on Thursday.
The Missouri Republican Party’s vice chair, secretary, treasurer, and executive director were also among those listed as Hancock’s supporters on the party website. That indicates that Hancock would have strong backing if other state party committee members were to try to oust him as chairman.
Watch video of Hancock reading his statement below:
