Thursday, June 23, 2016
GOP AG Race Gets Nasty
Everyone knew it was going to happen, but six weeks out seems a little early for the nasty turn in the Republican attorney general’s race.
It started with Josh Hawley’s ad using old footage of Sen. Kurt Schaefer defining himself as a moderate.
But Schaefer fired back yesterday with a devastating ad claiming that Hawley “worked for a terrorist.” See the ad here on Schaefer’s Facebook page.
Hawley’s campaign immediately sent a statement denouncing the ad. The ad cites Hawley’s name on a court document arguing for an inmate’s right to keep his beard as a matter of religious convictions.
Hawley statement: Kurt Schaefer’s campaign has knowingly lied in a television ad released today. The ad claims that Josh Hawley worked for a terrorist – a claim that was completely disproven as early as December of last year and widely discussed at the time in media reports…
And
The Post-Dispatch article on this (see it here) cites Jack Danforth coming to Hawley’s side on the issue… “Danforth, who also served as attorney general, said lawyers are ethically barred from misstating facts.”
Danforth also contributed $10K to Hawley yesterday (see large contributions below).
Then There’s This
To add fuel to fire, an independent organization, State Conservative Reform Action PAC (SCRAPAC) jumped in as well with a roundhouse: Schaefer helping the Chinese take over ‘Merica! See their ad here. One source says it is a million dollar buy. We’ll see…
The ad deals with the legislature’s move to remove the foreign ownership limit of farms in Missouri.
One politico adds his thoughts: The vote isn't the issue. The fact that Schaefer’s law firm, Lathrop and Gage represented the client is the issue. Kurt is listed on numerous court documents as their attorney. He should have recused himself from the vote.
Who knows… what I know is it doesn’t get kinder and gentler from here. Both will end up with mud spattered all of them and the real winner is the Democratic AG nominee.
2016 Watch: Myers No Threat in House 137
Jake Myers, running against Rep. Lyndall Fraker in House 137, filed his candidate committee finally. He filed an exemption committee indicating that he won’t be raising or spending more than $500.
Hard to take out an incumbent without spending any money….
2016 Watch: Ashcroft Lands $100K
David Humphreys contributed $100,000 to Republican secretary of state candidate John Jay Ashcroft.
Ashcroft had a huge lead of his Republican primary rival, Sen. Will Kraus, in the latest MOScout poll (see it here), but as of last quarter Ashcroft trailed Kraus’s cash on-hand total by $200K. This will help Ashcroft close the gap and help him hold his lead in these final weeks.
Rowden’s Attack Lines Revealed
CDT’s Rudi Keller reports on some discontent from Republicans with Rep. Caleb Rowden’s SJR 39 vote. See it here. But the interesting nugget is what it appears will be Rowden’s attack line against Rep. Stephen Webber in their Senate 19 race: missing votes.
Pull Quote: Rowden said… he will show the choice is between “one who has showed up to work and one who didn’t.”
He said Webber had missed 800 roll call votes over eight years…
Webber said he is not certain how many votes he has missed, but conflicts with his law school schedule while serving as a lawmaker might have inflated that number. Rowden, Webber said, has to answer for missing votes himself…
Nixon Signs SB638
The press release: Gov. Jay Nixon today visited the Ozarks Area Community Action
Corporation in Springfield to sign Senate Bill 638 legislation that would, among its many provisions, allow Missouri to establish a Quality Rating System for early childhood education providers serving children ages birth to kindergarten.
The effort to have a rating system for early childhood providers has been a priority since Charlie Shields was Senate pro tem. But it was consistently blocked by conservatives who worried about “overreach.” It interesting to watch these issues over the years slowly gain acceptance.
Bits
Former PSC commissioner Terry Jarrett writes about the impact of President Barack Obama’s energy policies. See it here.
The latest Rupp Report… see it here.
The Faith and Freedom Coalition (see the website here) is running radio ads that ask listeners to thank Josh Hawley and Roy Blunt for fighting for religious freedom.
Today’s Events
From Mary Scruggs’ indispensable events calendar:
Rep. Bryan Spencer Reception – Unkorked – Wentzville – 6PM.
$5K+ Contributions
Greitens for Missouri - $5,001 from Wade Schmidt.
Hawley for Missouri - $10,000 from John Danforth.
Greitens for Missouri - $5,001 from Tracy Comely.
Ashcroft for Missouri - $100,000 from David Humphreys.
Koster for Missouri - $25,000 from Democratic Governors Association Missouri.
Grietens for Missouri - $10,000 from Bruce Mills.
MO Republican Party - $10,000 from Missouri Realtors PAC Inc.
Lyda Krewson for Mayor - $25,000 from Michael Konzen.
Friends of Rick Stream - $7,000 from MO Majority PAC.
Missouri Senate Campaign Committee - $30,000 from Sater for Senate.
Koster for Missouri - $39,000 from Supporters of Health Research and Treatments.
Anne Zerr for Missouri - $10,000 from Simmons Hanly Conroy.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Reps. Kevin Engler, and Nick King, St. Louis Circuit Attorney candidate Steve Harmon, and Rupp’s brain, Rachel Hassani.