Trudy Busch Valentine in 2022 MO Senate race

On Civil Rights: All have right to live with authentic sexual orientation

Libertarian Party candidate Jonathan Dine agreed that LGBTQ Americans should be able to live freely without fear of persecution. "If you're in the public marketplace and you're selling goods or services," he said, "you have no right to discriminate against somebody based on their race, color, gender or sexual orientation."

Constitution Party candidate Paul Venable said Congress doesn't have the constitutional authority to prohibit anti-LGBTQ discrimination. That, he said, is the job of states.

On Drugs: Supports legal pot in MO; opposes it nationwide

Valentine said she supports the amendment legalizing marijuana in Missouri because it keeps cannabis out of the hands of anyone under 21. "This is an important issue for me," Valentine said. "I had a son who died of an opioid overdose."

On Foreign Policy: Disallow farmland ownership by Communist China

Before that vote, foreign ownership of Missouri farmland was banned. Soon after the ban was lifted, a Chinese company purchased Smithfield Foods and its 40,000 acres of Missouri farmland.

China was a key flashpoint in the GOP U.S. Senate primary, with all six major candidates jockeying for position in a party that has adopted former President Donald Trump's hard line against China as gospel. Valentine echoed the criticism of Schmitt on Friday. "Eric Schmitt allowed thousands of acres of farmland to be sold to Communist China," Valentine said. "And that's just plain wrong."