Thursday, April 16, 2015
Citizens for Fairness
The Citizens for Fairness committee which paid for the radio ads mocking Tom Schweich filed its April report.
It showed on contribution: $5,000 from Chester White LLC, which operates from the same address as Jeff Roe’s Axiom Strategies.
And the media production on the ad was done by Roe’s Candidate Command, LLC.
She Didn’t Know
At the end of the report is a “General Addendum” which states: “Two expenditures in opposition to Thomas Schweich's campaign for Governor were made by the Committee without giving notice to and without getting approval from any candidate for Governor. However, these expenditures were made with the knowledge of certain professionals retained by Hanaway for Governor, Inc. These expenditures have been reported to Hanaway for Governor, Inc. in a letter dated April 15, 2015 giving Hanaway for Governor, Inc. notice of the date and amount of these expenditures.”
MEC to English: Bad Use of Campaign $$$
The Missouri Ethics Commission told Rep. Keith English that he had to reimburse his campaign account for $5,000 he spent on an attorney – apparently to sue his opponent Rehka Sharma. If he doesn’t reimburse the amount, then the MEC will levy a $5K fine against English.
Quarters
I’ve put up a downloadable Excel spreadsheet in the Special Reports with the amount raised, spent, cash on-hand, and debt of all the House and Senate quarters as well as potential statewide candidates. See it here.
Some interesting things to note regarding this quarter…
Attorney General and Dem gubernatorial candidate Chris Koster continues to chug at his $500K+/quarter pace. He now has about $3.3 million on-hand and no primary.
Catherine Hanaway had a treading water quarter as she suspended her campaign during the Schweich tragedy. Meanwhile Eric Greitens came out of the gate pretty fast.
LG Peter Kinder didn’t fundraiser this quarter, raising only $8,400. Powering up the fundraising would help back up his talk of heading to the governor’s mansion.
In GOP SOS primary, Jay Ashcroft hasn’t started yet, so Sen. Will Kraus has a big head start with $452K on-hand.
In the Dem AG primary, Jake Zimmerman’s $200K loan powered his quarter. He now has $798K on-hand versus Sen. Scott Sifton’s $440K.
Not many big numbers from the sitting senators, a lot of them are reluctant to do much in the way of fundraising during session. The largest numbers were from those considering a statewide bid. Sens. Sifton ($89K) Kurt Schaefer ($71K), and Kraus ($63K).
Other senators are at various point in the cash hording mode: Sen. Ryan Silvey in a re-election cycle has over $300K on-hand, while Sen. Kiki Curls – also up in 2016 – has $8K on-hand.
Rep. Anne Zerr is lapping Rep. Mark Parkinson in their Senate 23 match-up. She has $104K on-hand, while he has $303 (no K missing there) on-hand.
Rep. Caleb Rowden posted a $30k quarter, bested only by Zerr (above), Speaker John Diehl, and Rep. Caleb Jones – who did $43K and is said to be on tap for a Senate 19 run against Rep. Stephen Webber. One observer: “Rowden’s relationships and articulation of issues paired with his growing fundraising base will make him a formidable candidate for Floor Leader if he chooses to get in...
Also
Virginia Young reports that Tom Schweich’s campaign account has sent a lot of refund check and therefore is down to $700K. See the story here.
After mulling an LG bid, John Wright has decided against a 2016 bid. Other names now being mentioned in the Dem statewide mix: Sen. Jason Holsman, and Susan Montee. If Kinder does jump into the Guv race, Sen. Mike Kehoe could hop into the LG race, and Holsman as well.
Bits
We now know why Politico thinks Missouri is a red state. It’s Nixon’s fault! Here’s their story on Cuba. “Missouri’s Republican governor Jay Nixon called the opening up of Cuba ‘a tremendous opportunity to strengthen our farms and our economy.’ Other Republican politicians can be expected to echo this call as heartland farm interests press their case…” Can’t blame them for being confused. Folks here have been sometimes too….
The Washington Post hits the Schweich suicide story. See it here.
It was a threepeat for the We Got The Runs team in the Legislative Charity Softball tournament last night. Start building your teams for next year. Champions are made in the off-season….
Lobbyist Registrations
Dave Berry and Katherine Casas added National Restaurant Association.
Daniel Engemann added Missouri Farmers for Biodiesel.
Joseph Thompson added Unite Here.
Jane Dueker deleted The Doe Run Company and McBride & Son Homes Inc.
$5K+ Contributions
Missourians for John Brunner - $5,001 from Bretn Witte.
Missourians for John Brunner - $5,001 from Mark Stephens.
Missourians for John Brunner - $75,000 from Lewis & Clark Northern Missouri Forum.
Missourians for John Brunner - $10,000 from SRC Holdings Corporation.
Citizens for Steve Stenger - $10,000 from Onder, Shelton, O’Leary & Peterson LLC.
House Republican Campaign Committee Inc - $15,000 from Anheuser Busch Companies.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to St. Louis Alderman Shane Cohn, and Matt Dameron.