Thursday, July 16, 2015
Schaefer to Koster: Investigate Planned Parenthood
Sen. Kurt Schaefer is jumping into the Planned Parenthood controversy (see it here) writing Attorney General Chris Koster demanding an investigation.
“Because of the possibility that Planned Parenthood is violating several Missouri laws prohibiting the sale of human remains and deceptive medical practices, I demand that you use the authority granted under Chapter 407 to immediately conduct an investigation into whether the horrifying and criminal practices described on video by a national executive at Planned Parenthood are occurring in Missouri.”
Greitens’ Dem Past
Republican gubernatorial candidate Eric Greitens recently penned an essay about his conversion from his roots as a Democrat. (See it here.)
It addresses the rumors which have made the rounds that Greitens has volunteered on Democratic campaigns and even mulled a campaign himself – as a Democrat – just a handful of years ago.
Greitens explains: “Some Democrats even tried to recruit me to run for Congress...”
I’ll bet folks are asking the DC Dem politicos in charge of recruiting to dig up those emails and have look-see at those conversations.
We’ll see….
Quarters
In the Special Reports find a downloadable spreadsheet with the cash on-hand, raised and expenditure numbers. Get it here.
Here are the highlights for the statewide…
For governor – Chris Koster remains king. He raised the most ($967K) and has the most on-hand($3.9 million). And since he doesn’t have a primary and the Republicans do, this will only amplify his funding advantage. Right now he’s clearly the favorite to win the governor’s mansion.
On the Republican side, Eric Greitens raised the most this quarter ($791K), but the knock on him is whether there’ll be actual support to match his monetary support… “At a quick scan, it appears four out of every five of Greitens contributions came from out of state. Raised only $156k from In-state donors. Looks like Tommy Sowers 2.0….”
Catherine Hanaway had the most on-hand, $1.5 million, but her $371K haul for the quarter while passable for this field, is still short of being competitive with Koster.
Sen. Mike Parson also had a passable quarter right out of the gate, $335K with $726K on-hand, but again folks are going to look for someone to keep pace with the Dem. And Republicans aren’t showing that.
John Brunner put up a better quarter with $417K raised though most of it came in the early months of the quarter so one wonders if he just grabbed low hanging fruit and then stopped the money chase.
Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder raised $59K to bring his cash on-hand to $129K. Everyone says his name ID is worth millions, but it certainly couldn’t hurt to raise a few buck as well.
Sen. Bob Dixon is said to be announcing next week. Then he’ll need to prove he can raise money. He ended the quarter with $73K on-hand, only $1K raised.
For lieutenant governor – Bev Randles, after starting with a million dollars from Rex Sinquefield, didn’t do much to broaden her donor base. She raised $25K from Tim Jones, who is now in the Rex orbit as a board member of MO Club for Growth and employee at Pelopidas, and then a little over $3K from others. The expectation is that she gets company in this race.
On the Dem side, Brad Bradshaw continues to fund his own campaign (see the large check today for a fresh infusion). He ended with $407K on-hand. He’ll likely far outspend Rep. Tommie Pierson in the Dem primary. Pierson had $10K on-hand.
For secretary of state – John Jay Ashcroft had an underwhelming quarter. You’d expect someone who raise dover a million dollars for a state senate race to show a little more firepower in their first quarter statewide. He raised $53K, trailing Sen. Will Kraus’ $62K. Kraus leads cash on-hand $505K to Ashcroft’s $60K. Still the chessboard is unchanged by the fundraising totals, as folks believe Ashcroft’s name ID is bulletproof and Kraus should look elsewhere for his political future.
For attorney general – On the Dem side, Sen. Scott Sifton was outraised by Jake Zimmerman again, bringing Zimmerman’s cash on-hand to $921K, nearly double Sifton’s $488K. But in a game of chicken it doesn’t really matter how fast the two cars are traveling, or even how big they are, both sides lose in a collision. So the underlying situation here is relatively unchanged.
On the Republican side, Sen. Kurt Schaefer padded his bank account with a new $96K. he now has $1.3 million on-hand.
For treasurer – Sen. Eric Schmitt chugs along, raising $151K, bringing his war-chest up to nearly $1.8 million. The only declared Democrat is Pat Contreras, and he’s not in the same league, with only $55K on-hand.
Senate Quarters
No major changes in narratives in the hot spot Senate races…
Senate 1 – Republican Rep. Marsha Haefner had $11K on-hand. Neither she nor Democratic Rep. Vicki Englund have started raising money in earnest. Of course on the Dem side, that lack of fundraising could leave the door open to an additional presence in the primary…
Senate 15 – Former Rep. Rick Stream has $21K on-hand, but has much more fundraising capacity. Rep. Mike Leara has $4K on-hand. And Rep. Andrew Koenig leads the pack (with $64K), but not by enough to make it intimidating.
Senate 19 – Democratic Rep. Stephen Webber is going full speed. He raised $131K and has $310K on-hand. Meanwhile Republican Rep. Caleb Jones raised $38K and now has $212K on-hand. But it’s seeming more likely he passes on this race, perhaps for LG?
Senate 23 – Bill Eigel raised the most in this spirited Republican primary due to a check he wrote himself. Eigel raised $137K and has $135K on-hand. Rep. Anne Zerr added $68K retaining her cash on-hand lead with $168K in the bank. Rep. Mark Parkinson raised $53K, most of which was from himself. He now has $54K on-hand.
Quarter Bits
Rep. Keith English hasn’t amended his campaign finance report to list himself as an Independent. It still has him as a Democrat. Perhaps he will run in the heavily Dem district as a Democrat again, and then declare himself Independent once back in the building?
Former speaker John Diehl didn’t file a quarterly report. He had $230K on-hand as of his April quarter. One wonders if he will donate the money to HRCC, or to a charity in a bid at a redemptive act, or perhaps hang on to it creating a Diehl PAC? We’ll see…
As I wandered through the filings, I only noticed two House members who have changed their committee to reflect an interest in Senate 4 in 2018. That’s when Senate Minority Leader, Sen. Joe Keaveny is termed, though some speculate he could take an earlier exit if a judgeship was offered. The two are House Minority Leader Jake Hummel and Rep. Michele Kratky. I’d expect a fuller field for that seat when the time comes.
Other Bits
God’s gift to Democrats? Independent Candidate for Governor Lester Turilli Jr, CEO of his family Meramec Caverns business, last week started converting some of the hundreds of Meramec Cavern billboards across Missouri to Lester for Governor. He is running a campaign heavily laced in bible quotes and, as an Independent, would capture some of the votes that would otherwise go to GOP nominee.
Eapen Thampy is soon registering as a lobbyist. His first client will be Kansas City Cannabis Solutions.
Rex Sinquefield will hold a fundy for GOP Prez candidate Scott Walker on Sunday July 26. Names on the host committee include Peter Kinder, Blaine Luetkemeyer, Dave Spence and Jim Talent.
New Committees
Peter Merideth formed a campaign committee to run for House 70 as a Democrat. That’s where Rep. Mike Colona is termed. Merideth is an attorney from the Shaw neighborhood part of the district where his family is very well known.
Dan Hyatt (see him here speaking to the Ferguson Commission) formed a committee to run for House 72 as a Republican. The current incumbent is Rep. Mary Nichols.
Koster for Gun Docketpress release
The press release: Attorney General Chris Koster today sent a letter to members of the Missouri General Assembly, renewing his 2014 call to enact legislation creating an armed offender docket to prioritize crimes committed with the use of a firearm. Koster first called for a pilot project to establish a "gun docket" in his recommendations following his statewide Urban Crime Summit in September 2013. Koster noted the St. Louis had "endured an unacceptable 120 homicides" in 2013. In the first six months of 2013, 49 homicides had occurred. By contrast, to date in
2015, St. Louis has already seen 96 homicides, nearly a 100% increase. St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, Chief Sam Dotson and Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce have publicly supported a gun docket proposal….
Ferguson 1000 Second Hiring Event
Dave Spence’s initiative to spurn opportunities in Ferguson, Ferguson 1000, will host their second hiring event July 18, 2015 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the Ferguson Community Center.
The focus of Ferguson 1000 is rebuilding Ferguson through job readiness training, job creation, youth development, and projects. As part of the job readiness training, there will be four (4) job readiness sessions during the day and evening prior to the upcoming hiring event. The job readiness sessions will focus on resumes, interviewing, and making sure participants have professional attire…
At the hiring event scheduled for July 18, 2015, F1000 has over 40 companies ready to hire people. Corporate Partners Participating in Hiring Event: BJC, Express Scripts, Enterprise Holdings, ABBCO, Lockerdome, SLU, Hollywood Casino, New York Life, Nike, Triple A, Charter Communications, Sysco Food, Mills Property Management, Pharma Medica, LGC, St. Louis Community Credit Union, Kelly Services, Express Employment, Ameren UE, Botanical Gardens, Avon, Bethesda Health Group, St. Louis Staffing, City of St. Louis Personnel, Interface Construction Corp, Easter Seals, Whelan Security, Allied Barton Security Services LLC, Centaur Building Services, Edward Jones, Centene, Ikea, Cracker Barrel, FedEx, First Capitol Chiropractic, Visions Home Health, Probation and Parole, Community Partners Participating in Hiring Event, Claim Academy, St. Louis Community College, First Horizons, Vatterott, Academy Banking, SLATE/American Job Center, Brown Mackie College.
eMailbag on Brunner Team
It looks like Brunner is the Blunt Inc. choice since Amy Blunt is working for him (Bespoke Group) and all the Romney ties they have…
eMailbag on GOP Gov Candidates
With all the GOP gubernatorial candidates, it's interesting none are from the KC area. With St. Louis and outstate split up, a strong KC-area candidate could be well positioned. But KC lacks any strongly visible GOP leaders; Ryan Silvey may be an exception, and he could also draw GOP union members and Medicaid supporters statewide, which could be 5-10% of the primary vote. It won't happen probably because the GOP would likely lose his Senate seat if he doesn't run for reelection, but it would be an interesting wrinkle to the jumble.
Today’s Events
From Mary Scruggs’ indispensable events calendar:
Rep. Warren Love Golf – Shadow Lake Golf Course – Wheatland – 9:30AM.
Rep. Tim Remole Fish Fry – Macon Cty. Fairgrounds – 6:30PM.
Lobbyists Registrations
Tricia Workman and Mike Gibbons added Seven Seas Technologies Inc.
$5K+ Contributions
Missouri Farmers Care - $10,000 from Missouri Corn Growers Association.
Bradshaw for Missouri - $110,000 from Brad Bradshaw.
Reinvest STL - $7,500 from Slay for Mayor.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Empower Missouri’s Jeanette Mott Oxford (61), and AT&T’s John Sondag.