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U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt was back home Monday to help stump for U.S. Senate mate Josh Hawley, a fellow Republican who is locked in a barb-tossing battle with Democratic challenger Lucas Kunce in Tuesday’s election.

But last week, Schmitt was racking up air miles, crisscrossing the country with bigger, or at least more national, fish to fry.

“I’m not sure what I expected from all this, but it’s been an honor that people have wanted me to be a surrogate for their campaigns,� Schmitt said in a phone interview Friday from Michigan.

Schmitt’s inclusion in races that have drawn national attention also has raised his profile well beyond the exposure normally garnered by a U.S. Senator still in the first third of his first term.

“I’m just embracing it,� Schmitt said of the publicity windfall.

Schmitt’s stops last week were short and focused, as he managed to show up in Arizona, Michigan, Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin.

Most noteworthy has been Schmitt’s role in working crowds in favor of former President Donald Trump, who faces Vice President Kamala Harris.

As his social media posts have shown, Schmitt spent a good amount of his travel time on a private jet with Trump, as well as with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“I’ve got to say that it was kind of neat — being a Catholic kid and all — to meet one of the Kennedys,� said Schmitt, a DeSmet Jesuit High grad. “I’m glad I got the chance.�

Schmitt also stumped for incumbent U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Ohio Republican Bernie Moreno, who hopes to unseat incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown and help return the upper chamber of Congress to GOP control.

As he did this summer, when the Kansas City Star first named Schmitt as being on the short list of candidates to become U.S. attorney general, the former Missouri attorney general sidestepped any personal travel notes.

“This has been about getting people out to vote� in Tuesday’s races, he said.

Schmitt also noted that with the advent of early voting, the time for discussing policies now comes to a quicker closing.

“It’s a bit of a change, with 20%-30% of the people already having voted,� Schmitt said. “Now it’s all about persuading people to mobilize.�

Noting that because he is not up for reelection — Schmitt and state Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick are the only statewide elected officials in Missouri not on the ballot this year — he had the opportunity to stump for others.

“From everything I’ve gathered, this seems to be a ‘change’ election cycle, a lot more like 2016 than 2020,� Schmitt said, then pointed to the issue of COVID-19, which dominated a substantial chunk of the debates around the 2020 races.

“The whole lockdown issue (which Schmitt calls ‘COVID tyranny’) isn’t front and center,� he said.

Schmitt’s increasingly closer ties to Trump began in earnest in late May, when he and seven other GOP senators — including J.D. Vance, Trump’s eventual pick for vice president — vowed to oppose President Joe Biden’s nominations for federal posts.

Several weeks later, Schmitt and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., were tasked with helping Trump prepare for his June 27 debate with Biden.

Then in July, Schmitt was tabbed to address the Republican National Convention, at which Trump was nominated for his third run at the presidency.

Another inside-politics move cropped up just last month, when Schmitt turned down a chance to become the chair in 2026 of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Although some political media outlets had pegged him as a leading contender, Schmitt turned down taking the role, which was eventually grabbed by U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina.

Schmitt’s refusal prompted The Hill, a national political website, to resurrect the notion that Schmitt may be hoping to become U.S. attorney general.

In , The Hill said Schmitt is “being floated as a possible candidate to become attorney general if former President Trump wins in November.�

And far more recent, an article about possible appointments in a new Trump administration , names Schmitt as one of three U.S. senators who might become attorney general if Trump wins the presidential election.

Politico reported that Schmitt “has taken several steps to ingratiate himself to Trump.�

Schmitt’s avoidance of discussing his own rising profile does not mean it isn’t true, that he hasn’t elevated his position among national Republican figures.

John Hancock, a GOP political consultant and former chairman of the Missouri Republican Party, sees Schmitt’s stock rising.

Hancock also agreed that Schmitt’s name could end up on the roster of people being offered positions in a second Trump administration.

“That’s quite possible, if (Schmitt) wants to go that route,� he said.

Said Hancock, “He has certainly raised his profile and has made himself into a significant figure on the national scene going forward.�