Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who has targeted LGBTQ+ people during his 17 months in office, is one step closer to holding on to his job. Bailey beat Will Scharf in a Republican primary for state attorney general on Tuesday.

Former President Donald Trump had endorsed both Bailey and Scharf on Truth Social.

Bailey was first appointed to the attorney general position by Missouri Gov. Mike Parsons (R) in January 2023. Since then, he has launched investigations against a childrens hospital, gym and retailer that provide services or a safe and affirming space for transgender Missourians.

One of the first actions Bailey took as attorney general was to attempt to investigate the Washington University Pediatric Transgender Center at St. Louis Childrens Hospital after a former caseworker, Jamie Reed, accused the center of malpractice. Bailey gave Reed whistleblower protection and began asking the hospital for patient medical records; later, he also asked for information on therapists and social workers across the state who worked with trans youth. A Missouri judge eventually found that Baileys office had no right to private medical information.

Last year, Bailey also signed an emergency rule that created a burdensome set of requirements for trans people of all ages seeking gender-affirming care. He withdrew the emergency order only when the Republican-led legislature passed its own ban on gender-affirming care for minors, Medicaid recipients and incarcerated people.

Katy Erker-Lynch, the executive director of PROMO, a Missouri LGBTQ advocacy group, said Baileys actions have created a hostile environment for medical providers where they are afraid to stay and practice medicine.

And just days before the states primary election, Bailey sent out a stark warning to a St. Louis gym that had come under scrutiny from conservatives for allowing a transgender woman to use the womens locker room.

While it might be considered fashionable in certain corporate boardrooms to pretend that biology is irrelevant, the American heartland still lives in reality, Bailey wrote in a statement to the companys CEO.