Hi Friends,

For those of you who haven’t met me before, I’m Elad’s friend and former rival in the Democratic primary for Missouri Attorney General, Rich Finneran. I’m writing to thank you for all the support that you’ve offered Elad in the course of his campaign, and to ask for your support now as I go forward to finish the work Elad started -- by taking back the Attorney General’s Office for the people of Missouri.

As you may know, Elad and I have known each other for years. I had the privilege of getting to know him when he was a law student at Wash U, where I’ve taught for more than a decade. Even then you could see his boundless energy and dedication to improving the lives of the people around him. I can tell you from seeing it firsthand: Elad has always been a force of nature.

Elad and I stayed in touch after he graduated from law school, and I watched as he brought his values and enthusiasm into his budding law practice. When Elad heard rumblings that I might be thinking about running for Attorney General, he reached out to me, and we sat down over lunch to talk about the possibility that we might wind up as rivals in the Democratic primary. And, though I’m sure this will come as no surprise to you, Elad didn’t try to talk me out of it or intimidate me into sitting on the sidelines. He encouraged me. That’s not the kind of thing you expect to hear from a potential primary opponent, but then, Elad is not just any primary opponent.

Elad and I agreed at that lunch that we would run a clean primary campaign, each offering our vision for the office and allowing the voters to decide. And I’m extremely proud to say that we both did exactly that. 

When people would ask me why I was running against Elad, I always told them I wasn’t. I was running alongside him. When people would ask Elad and me what issues we disagreed about, we usually looked quizzically at each other and shrugged our shoulders. Elad’s race was never about beating me, and mine was never about beating him. It was always about each of us fighting as hard as we could to take back the Attorney General’s Office in November. 

Though my campaign prevailed in last week’s primary, I cannot help but stand in awe of everything Elad has been able to accomplish in the past twenty months. He engaged voters all across Missouri, from Stoddard County to Atchison and everywhere in between. He listened to your hopes and concerns, learned about the issues that matter to you, and vowed to serve the people of Missouri. More than a campaign, he has built a movement, one which I hope will long outlast his campaign and continue to advocate for the hardworking people of our state for many years to come.

And I want to make sure that you know that I am committed to the same thing that motivated Elad in this race -- advocating for people like you. I have spent most of my career as a public servant, prosecuting fraud and corruption in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in St. Louis. I was not afraid to go after corporations and scammers who deprived hardworking people of their livelihoods -- in some cases their entire life savings. I’m most proud of my work in victim restitution, which recovered millions for Missourians who had been victims of fraud. As Attorney General, I’ll continue to fight for the powerless and the vulnerable, because our Attorney General should always be focused on protecting people first.

Our current Attorney General does just the opposite. He serves himself at the expense of people like us. Instead of fighting to protect coverage for pre-existing conditions, he sues to take them away. Instead of advocating for working families  in the midst of this global pandemic, he sues China. Instead of upholding our vote last week to expand Medicaid, he goes to court to overturn it. His goal is to get on Fox News and promote the future political career of Eric Schmitt, not a better future for you and your family. We deserve better.

That’s why I’m so proud to have Elad with me in this fight. I know he’ll be a tireless advocate for the people, and he’ll probably rack up another 100,000 miles on his car to help elect Democrats up and down the ticket in November. He believes so strongly in the people of Missouri that he’ll never give up. And neither will I.

A reporter recently asked me if I thought that our primary hurt our party’s chances in November. I told him that nothing could be further from the truth. By running in this primary together, Elad and I have energized far more voters than either of us could have done on our own. And thanks to the hard work that Elad put in, people just like you all around the state are engaged and committed to restoring integrity to the Attorney General’s office by unseating Eric Schmitt in November. That would not have been possible without Elad’s tireless commitment and tenacity. 

So I hope you’ll help Elad and me finish the job and turn Missouri blue in November. We can make it happen, but only if we work together.  I know Elad and I will. If you are ready to join us, follow us on Facebook and Twitter and click below to sign up to help us take back the Attorney General’s Office for the people of Missouri, just like Elad has always said we would.

Let’s get to work.

- Rich

On Saturday at 1 PM, I hope you'll join Elad and me for an open, uncensored town hall. Bring your questions and ask them live on Elad's Facebook page, on Twitter, on YouTube, and at EladGross.live.

If there's anything you need, let me know. Reply to this email or send me a new email at [email protected].