Wednesday, July 15, 2015
The New Seven-Way
Yesterday’s news that Sen. Bob Dixon is preparing to enter the Missouri gubernatorial race send heads shaking. See a few of the comments I got below.
The general consensus is that this not a major development. Dixon’s statewide name ID is minimal, and he’s never been able to raise much money in his past races. Therefore his impact should be limited.
But it is a net negative for Sen. Mike Parson as it erodes a bit of his camp’s narrative that he was the lone out-state candidate in a field of mostly St. Louis-centric candidates. In so much as Dixon can peel away Springfield primary voters, those could be coming out of Parson’s pile.
It is likewise a net positive for Peter Kinder. The more the merrier for Kinder whose towering name ID increases as an asset with the more splintered the field becomes.
eMailbag: on Dixon’s Entry
Lobbyist #1: FUBAR! Nothing good can come of this. It was a situation like this that got Todd Akin elected. Need I say more!
Lobbyist #2: Clown car. I guess MO republicans are trying to have more gov candidates than Republican presidential candidates.
Kinder’s No-So-Secret Weapon?
One long-time Kinder-watcher reminded me yesterday that in Kinder’s past campaigns he’s had the luxury of receiving conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh’s endorsement. “Just wait until next summer in the heat of the primary when conservative voters start hearing Limbaugh’s endorsements on AM radio…”
Preannouncements
Today is the deadline to report campaign fundraising totals for the three months ending June 30. A number of folks have sent out early press releases touting their numbers.
US Senate: Friends of Roy Blunt, the political committee focused on election efforts for Senator Roy Blunt, announced today that it will report $3.8 million in the bank as second quarter reports are filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Missourians represent 80 percent of individual donors, and 691 new donors stepped up this quarter, bringing the three-month total to $1,338,672…
Jason Kander’s campaign for U.S. Senate today announced that Kander raised about three-quarters of a million dollars for the second-straight quarter, and has over $1.1 million cash on hand… Kander held 15 campaign events across Missouri in just 14 weeks during the second fundraising quarter, with 1,825 Missourians contributing to his campaign from April through June… Kander raised $734,620 in the second quarter…
Senate 19: Representative Stephen Webber announced his campaign for Missouri’s 19th State Senate district will report $310,179.58 on hand today after raising $132,435.25 in the second quarter of the 2016 campaign cycle. Webber’s campaign has raised $270,791.20 to date… Citizens for Stephen Webber reported 408 contributions - 93% of those contributions came from individuals or businesses. Webber is currently the only announced candidate for the 19th State Senate District.
Senate 23: Air Force veteran and small business owner Bill Eigel has raised more than $140,000 in his bid to replace a term-limited Sen. Tom Dempsey… Eigel’s first report includes an initial $100,000 personal loan from the candidate. “I haven’t worked to pass tax credits for corporations and catered to labor unions, so special interest groups aren’t going to cut big checks to my campaign,” said Eigel…
Brunner Payroll Grows
John Brunner announced his campaign team…
Chief of Staff Paul Holzer (Boston, MA): He served as a United States Navy SEAL Officer from 2003-2013… Executive Director of Massachusetts Victory and as a chief architect for the voter contact strategy in the 2014 Massachusetts election cycle on behalf of Republican Charlie Baker…
Senior Advisor Beth Myers (Boston, MA): former Chief of Staff to Governor Mitt Romney…
David Barklage/Barklage & Knodell (Jefferson City, MO): a full-service political consulting firm…
Political Director Robert Knodell (Holts Summit, MO): has led or advised over 200 campaigns in the State of Missouri…
John Thompson/Thompson Communications, Inc. (Marshfield, MO): a national, full-service advertising, marketing and communications company…
Senior Finance Advisor Magan Munson (Boston, MA): worked for the RNC during the 2014 cycle and Governor Romney's Presidential Campaign in 2012.
Finance and Political Advisor Tom Carter (Ozark, MO): a 30-year veteran of Missouri political campaigns having worked with Senator Roy Blunt from Missouri for 26 years…
Finance Consultant Katie McGurk (Kansas City, MO): Principal at The KAM Co…
Williams-Keepers LLC (Jefferson City, MO): serves as the Brunner campaign finance compliance staff.
The Bespoke Group (Columbia, MO)*: consults clients on political law, government affairs and compliance for both candidates and political action committees...
Communications Director Mike Hafner (St. Louis, MO): has advised numerous candidates at both the state and national level…
Digital Strategy - Rob Willington (Boston, MA): President of SwiftKurrent, an award-winning digital marketing agency….
Steve Allen/SalientPoint LLC (Boston, MA): A communications consultant for more than 20 years…
Brunner plans to announce additional staff and Finance Committee members prior to officially launching his gubernatorial campaign later this year.
Uber as a Partisan Issue?
Politico writes that the presidential candidates seem to be taking different views of the new “sharing economy” depending on their political party… GOP LOOKS TO HITCH A RIDE WITH UBER - Uber has rolled into the 2016 circus, with Republican hopefuls heaping praise on the company and Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton keeping a cautious distance…
Nixon News
Governor Jay Nixon appointed Mary Nelson to the Highway Commission. See it here.
And Post-Dispatch’s Alex Stuckey looks ahead to this year’s veto session, noting that Nixon vetoed considerably fewer bills this year. See it here.
eMailbag: Greitens Advance Work
Got a call from Greiten’s campaign yesterday; the caller seemed nervous as he was leaving me a voicemail as to details regarding a Jefferson City “listening” session. Found it rather interesting. Clearly, nothing he was saying was rehersed ahead of time.
Today’s Events
From Mary Scruggs’ indispensable events calendar:
Sen. Gary Romine Golf – Crown Pointe Golf Club – Farmington – Noon lunch, 1PM start.
Lobbyists Registrations
Jerry Hobbs added Missouri Education Reform Council.
Richard McIntosh added Adobe Systems Incorporated.
Lana Ladd Baker deleted Engagepoint.
$5K+ Contributions
Parson for Governor - $10,000 from RightChoice Managed Care Inc.
Missouri Senate Campaign Committee - $14,000 from Menlo Smith.
Working Families Committee - $10,000 from IUPAT Political Action Together.
MO State Teachers Assoc Legislative Impact Co - $5,066 from Northeast Region MSTA.
Koster for Missouri - $25,000 from Pyramid Home Health Services.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to St. Louis City Alderwoman Dionne Flowers, and the Senate’s Adriane Crouse.