Monday, June 16, 2014
Jeff Roe Does Dallas
In the Dallas News… see it here.
Pull Quotes: The bitter, all-Republican fight for the Park Cities-based legislative seats did more than rattle the usually staid politics in that wealthy enclave. It also provided an up-close look at two opposing political teams and their strategies, driven by attack ads that drew statewide attention — and even a misdemeanor charge against one of the candidates. Some of the hard-edge tactics worked; some backfired… The GOP match-ups pitted North Texas newcomer Matt Langston and national political operative Jeff Roe against Mari Woodlief, president and chief executive of Allyn Media, a local advertising and public relations agency… Huffines hired 31-year-old Langston as his campaign manager and Roe as his general consultant…
Huffines went up early and often with ads that portrayed him as an activist conservative and branded his rival as a moderate who had used government to enrich himself. One of his fliers Photoshopped Carona in the classic Marlon Brando Godfather pose and likened him to a mobster. Carona, who is Italian-American, denounced the ad as false and offensive… As Huffines kept pounding, Carona finally fired back, accusing him of a “shallow campaign” that offered few details on what he’d do in office. It was too late. By the end, Huffines had become a celebrity with tea party advocates and hard-line party members. He won by a whisker, 632 votes out 49,650…
The Huffines-Carona race — in which they spent more than $6 million combined — mirrored the battle being played out nationally between the GOP’s activist wing and establishment figures…
Three first-time GOP candidates squared off for the open House District 108 seat. With similar conservative views and Park Cities ties, they touted their families, careers and civic involvement… Trying to rebound, Westcott hired Huffines’ winning duo, Langston and Roe… It it didn’t take long for the fireworks to begin…
His campaign publicized Meyer’s expunged records from two drunken driving charges, of which he later was acquitted, when in law school in the late 1990s in Virginia. The fliers used a fake mug shot of Meyer as “drunk driver” and pasted his picture on a liquor bottle on a blood-stained road. Westcott accused Meyer of lying because he didn’t mention the arrests in a voter’s questionnaire… Westcott kept up the drunken driver ad, losing several big-name backers repelled by its tone. And Virginia authorities charged him with a misdemeanor for disclosing the expunged records. The two rumbled into last month’s runoff, which Meyer won in a landslide…
Roe defended the campaign’s aggressiveness but said the style of the “drunk driver” mailer was a mistake. “I regret writing that piece,” Roe said. “It was focused more on the act than the lie. The style was too harsh for what we were trying to communicate.”
Wagner in Middle of Whip Race
From Politico this morning, Congresswoman Ann Wagner is a player in the middle of the Republican caucus’ whip race. See it here.
Pull Quotes: The race for the next House Republican whip is wide open. And like other internal GOP fights, this one could get ugly. Candidates for whip and their backers worked through the weekend to build support, but it’s not clear if the current leader — Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise — has the votes to win it outright on the first ballot. Rep. Peter Roskam of Illinois is close behind, while Rep. Marlin Stutzman of Indiana is trying to cash in on unhappiness with the other two…
Republicans will meet behind closed doors in the Longworth House Office Building on Thursday to vote… The victor will say a lot about the direction and tenor of House Republicans heading into the midterm elections.
If Republicans choose Scalise, it would demonstrate hunger for a conservative red-state Southern lawmaker atop the party… Rep. Steve Stivers of Ohio, a close ally of Speaker John Boehner, said Scalise “can win it on the first ballot.” Reps. Aaron Schock of Illinois, Ann Wagner of Missouri and Patrick McHenry of North Carolina are all key in the Scalise operation.
The party will maintain the status quo of leadership hailing from blue states if Roskam becomes the next whip. That dynamic frustrates many red-state lawmakers... Schock’s support of Scalise is a thumb in the eye for Roskam, his home-state colleague. But Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk is working the phones for Roskam. For now, Roskam is just short of 90 votes, and his strategy is to make it to the second ballot and win there...
AR PSC Stops SWMO SWEPCO Line
The Arkansas Public Service Commission last week issued a ruling to rehear the plans for a transmission line to run through Missouri. There had been opposition to it in the Missouri legislature. See the article here.
Pull Quote: The commission ruled Southwestern Power Company (SWEPCO) must show additional evidence on the need for, and the potential environmental impact of, the proposed project before proceeding… The commission granted a rehearing and will look at whether the needs may be met through alternative options. The decision to hold a new hearing vacated the previous grant for the route into Missouri. Under the SWEPCO plan, 345,000-volt power lines would be carried by 150-foot-tall towers from the new Shipe Road Station, west of Centerton, in Benton County, Ark., to north of Berryville, Ark… State Rep. Scott Fitzpatrick, R-Shell Knob, who led the campaign in the Missouri General Assembly, along with State Sen. David Sater, R-Cassville, applauded the decision. Fitzpatrick said the ruling will allow opponents valuable time to continue their efforts to permanently stop a project that would provide no additional electricity to Missouri homes and businesses but would threaten the property rights of many Missouri residents.
New AG PAC
Sarah Steelman is the treasurer of a new campaign committee, AG PAC. See the Missouri Ethics Commission filing here.
Justus for Kansas City
Sen. Jolie Justus, term-limited in the Senate, has started a campaign committee to run for Kansas City Council. She’ll run for the 4th District at-large seat in 2015. It’s a non-partisan election.
Facebook Hearts Koster?
In the large contributions, social media giant Facebook sent $10,000 to Attorney General Chris Koster’s campaign.
Fundraising Calendar
Today’s fundraising events from Mary Scruggs’ indispensable events calendar:
Sen. Ryan Silvey Golf – Shoal Creek Golf Course, Kansas City.
$5K+ Contributions
Missouri Early Voting Fund - $25,000 from Kenneth McClain.
Missourians for Safe Transportation & New Jobs Inc. - $10,000 from Missouri Asphalt Pavement Assn Political Action Committee.
Friends of Tom Schweich - $6,000 from David Grossman.
Friends of Tom Schweich - $10,000 from William Maritz.
Sanders for Jackson County - $10,000 from James Nutter Sr.
Missourians for Koster - $10,000 from Facebook Inc.
Happy Birthday
Happy birthday to Congressman Jason Smith (34), Reps. Bill White (61) and Bob Burns (66), and John Pelzer.