Monday, January 13, 2014

Schweich’s January Quarter

Auditor Tom Schweich filed his January quarter early.  He raised $237,814.  He’s chugging along.  The quarter was powered by five checks of $20K each (from Roy Pfautch, Jesse Bodine, David Humphreys, Steven Trulaske, and Steve Roodman).  After expenses of $82K, Schweich finished with $662,109.

The only declared Democratic opponent to Schweich is Rep. Jay Swearingen.  He hasn’t posted his January quarter yet.  (Most politicians and candidates will post their quarters on the deadline day – Wednesday, January 15).  Swearingen had $18,086 on-hand in October.

January Quarter Watch

Here’s what I’ll be looking for on Wednesday…

AG Chris Koster – His race (governor) isn’t until 2016, but he’s be raising money at a blistering pace, hitting the $500K mark each quarter.  Can he continue that?

Tim Jones, Kurt Schaefer and Eric Schmitt – Another 2016 scenario still years off.  And I’m still a believer that these three don’t collide in an ugly mess of a primary, but right now, that’s the way all three camps are talking.  They ended last quarter in the same cash on-hand ballpark.  Does some separation begin to occur?  IS it enough to matter?

Chuck Gatschenberger, Bob Onder, and Vicki Schneider – The primary is now just two seasons away.  Schneider needs to start showing some money if she’s going to be viewed as viable.

Jeanie Riddle and Ed Schieffer – The smart money has Riddle taking over this seat.  We’ll see if the numbers continue to confirm that forecast.

TJ Berry – If he’s going to challenge Casey Guernsey for Senate 12, he’ll need to start building a war-chest.

Maria Chappelle-Nadal – Folks usually talk about a primary challenge to the sometimes controversial Chappelle-Nadal, but no concrete names have been offered.  In the meantime, she pads her campaign account.  We’ll see by how much.

Jeff Roorda and Paul Wieland – Roorda is off to the faster start in Senate 22.  If Governor Jay Nixon calls a special election here (I don’t see it happening from a strategic point of view), that might matter even more.

Jill Schupp – She’s been obviously working hard to establish as much of a lead as she can before Republican settle on a replacement for John Lamping in Senate 24.  This number will tell us how much more ground she has covered.

Bob Dixon – I still haven’t heard a Democratic name in this swing district (Senate 30).  Still it’d be good for Dixon to put more money in the bank than the $34K he had at the end of last quarter.

House Republican Campaign Committee – As long as I have been following state politics, one of the engines of the Republican House electoral success has been their ability to substantially outraise their Democratic counterparts.  With Koster, Claire McCaskill and Clint Zweifel all taking more of an interest in legislative races than Dem leadership did in the past, will Dems close that gap this cycle?

Obamacare: The War That Won’t End

Front page Post-Dispatch today is an article by Virginia Young about a bill from Sen. John Lamping which would throw a wrench” in Obamacare.  Read it here.

Pull Quote:  “The bill would suspend insurance companies’ state licenses if they accepted subsidies offered by the federal government to help pay health insurance premiums for low- and middle-income Missourians.  Lamping contends the subsidies are illegal and eventually will be thrown out by a federal court. By rejecting them, he said, Missouri could remove the trigger in the federal law that, beginning in 2015, will assess penalties against large employers that don’t provide health insurance.”

Hancock Looks at Transfer Law

KC Star’s Jason Hancock has an article looking at the various angles of the student transfer law.  Read it here.

Pull Quote:  “What’s unfair,” said Republican House Speaker Tim Jones, “about allowing a child to have an opportunity at a good education versus being forever stuck and mired in a failing school district?”  Troubled school districts and their suburban neighbors disagree… All this controversy — with the unaccredited Kansas City schools at the center — will play out in the shadow of years of legislative gridlock.  The obstacles have left many fearing the issue will once again be left unresolved and result in the exodus of thousands of students from the Kansas City school district.  “We’re not holding our breath that something is going to get done out of this legislature,” said Mike Lodewegen, a lobbyist for the Missouri Association of School Administrators. “A lot of people see the problems in urban schools as just an opportunity to push their agenda.”

Nixon Creates Group to Protect Fed Military Spending in MO

On Friday, Governor Jay Nixon announced the formation of the “Missouri Military Partnership.”  It’s a “coordinated effort between the state and local communities and businesses to retain and enhance Missouri’s military bases, force strength and federal defense spending.”

Nixon appointed State Treasurer Clint Zweifel to head up the effort.  One Dem noted, “Zweifel is getting along with everyone these days.” 

Committee Hearings

We’re off to the races. 

All session long, find the House Committee Hearings here.  And the Senate Committee Hearings here.

On Combest this morning – AP highlights a right to work bill to be heard in the House Workforce Committee today.  Read it here.

And

In case you missed this one this morning, a Southwest airplane scheduled to land at the Branson airport, landed at the wrong place instead… Read it here.

$5K+ Contributions

Citizens for Eggleston - $12,000 from J Eggleston.

Missourians for Safe Transportation & New Jobs Inc. - $22,464 from Missouri Construction Industry Advancement Fund.

Missourians for Safe Transportation & New Jobs Inc. - $57,500 from Pace Construction Company.

House Democratic Victory Committee - $5,001 from Joseph C Kleeman Memorial Democratic PAC.

Lobbyist Registrations

From the Pelopidas website:

Joseph Thompson added Laclede Gas Company, and Riverview Commerce Park Inc; and deleted Missouri Gas Energy.

Joseph Treadway deleted Pinnacle Entertainment.

Joel D Denney added Missouri National Guard Association.

Christopher P. Moody added Public Water Supply District No. 2 of St. Charles County.

Stacy Shore added Concerned Women for America of Missouri.

Ginger Steinmetz added Kyna Iman LLC.

Birthdays

Happy birthday to St. Louis Alderman Jeffrey Boyd.