Missouri Senate race: Schmitt raises $1.6M at Mar-a-Lago event, lands visit from Trump

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Missouri AG Schmitt says he's a 'fighter' in race for US Senate

Missouri Attorney General Rep. Eric Schmitt uses "fighter" resume as leverage in U.S. Senate race and views China the biggest threat to the US .

Missouri GOP Senate candidate Eric Schmitt on Thursday night raised $1.6 million at a private fundraising event for his campaign and aligned super PAC held at former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property, Fox News has learned.

Trump made a surprise appearance at the event, and made brief remarks to guests. Former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker was a scheduled featured guest. 

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"I'm grateful for the overwhelming support we've received and it's clear from this support that people want a fighter in the U.S. Senate, who will never quit on Missouri, and who has a proven conservative record of taking action and winning to restore President Trump's America first agenda," Schmitt told Fox News. 

Trump has not yet endorsed a candidate in the race.

Eric Schmitt, Missouri attorney general, speaks during a news conference outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 9, 2019.   (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Schmitt is in a competitive primary against Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, who is a top contender, as well as Rep. Vicky Hartzler in the predominantly rural west-central part of the state; Rep. Billy Long in the 7th Congressional District in southwest Missouri; and Mark McCloskey, the St. Louis attorney who along with his wife grabbed national headlines during the summer of 2020 for holding guns outside their home to warn off Black Lives Matter protesters.

Former Gov. Eric Greitens delivers the keynote address at the St. Louis Area Police Chiefs Association 27th Annual Police Officer Memorial Prayer Breakfast on April 25, 2018, at the St. Charles Convention Center.  (Laurie Skrivan/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

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The GOP candidates are running to succeed retiring Sen. Roy Blunt.

Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., talks to a reporter on his way to a Senate Republican luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday, June 10, 2020.  (Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Schmitt, who has won two statewide elections in Missouri – for treasurer and then attorney general – has made headlines over the past year filing lawsuits against the Biden administration.

The GOP primary is Aug. 2.

Fox News' Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.