John F. Wood, who was the House Jan.6 committee's lead investigator, quit last week. He launched an independent bid Wednesday to run in the U.S. Senate race for Missouri, he told CBS News.
Wood must collect 10,000 signatures or 2% of those who voted in the previous Senate election to be eligible to vote, according to a spokesperson from the Missouri Secretary-of-State's Office. August 1 is the deadline.
He said in an interview to CBS News that he believed it important to have a third option.
Wood will be running for the seat of retiring Republican Senator Roy Blount. Both parties fight tooth and nail for every seat in the 50/50 Senate. Wood stated that he would like to join the caucus of Republicans if elected and noted that polls have shown a desire for a mainstream Republican alternative in the style of long-time Senator John Danforth and Blount. Danforth has called on Wood to run for the election.
Republicans are locked in a vicious primary to win the seat. Former Gov. Eric Greitens and Attorney General Eric Schmitt are the candidates.
Recent polls showed Greitens leading. A poll by CBS affiliate KMOV/Survey USA had him up as high as 9 points in May.
Greitens quit in 2018 after being accused of sexual assault during an extramarital affair. In a court filing, Greitens' ex-wife claimed that he was physically abusive and unstable.
Greitens denied the allegations.
Wood believes Greitens had a better chance of winning the Republican primary on Aug. 2.
Wood stated that he believes America is more divided now than it has ever been during his lifetime. He said that Missouri is where the Republican party seems to be about to nominate a disgraced former governor, who released an advertisement hunting members of his party just days before.
Greitens published an ad this month claiming he was "hunting" for RINOs (Republicans In Name Only) while carrying a gun.
U.S. Marine veteran Lucas Kunce and Trudy Busch Valentine (an Anheuser-Busch beer Heiress) are the leading Democratic candidates. Spencer Toder is a St. Louis businessman. Wood stated that the Democratic candidates would follow the lead of Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer.
According to Politico, both national and state Republicans are concerned about Greitens. A GOP-affiliate Super PAC, Show Me Values, launched last week $1 million worth ads against Greitens.
Trump's former president, Donald Trump, has not yet issued an endorsement. He has a mixed record in the midterms as kingmaker. According to Politico, Kimberly Guilfoyle is the national chair for Greitens Campaign.
Wood was recently the House select committee's investigative lawyer. Wood was the center of attention during the June 16 public hearing. He questioned former Vice-President Mike Pence's chief attorney Greg Jacob and conservative attorney Michael Luttig about a scheme by John Eastman to present alternate electors. Luttig stated that Eastman's theory was not supported by the Constitution or the laws of the United States.
Wood acknowledged that Trump is still popular, but he added that many Trump voters recognize that Jan. 6's tragedy was a tragedy that shouldn't be repeated.
Wood stated that he didn't think about his political future when he accepted the job at the committee. Wood said that he accepted the job because it was "the right" thing to do.
Last week, he resigned from the committee.
