MOScout Daily Update: Steward $$$ - Moon and Manhood - Clay Suit Dismissed - Digital Campaigns and more....
Steward $$$ and GOP Divisions
One MOScouter writes in… I found your GOP dinner item mystifying…. Unity by honoring David Steward… while Steward has given what, around $1M, sowing disunity and dissension in the Senate [by funding primaries]?... Maybe the dinner is better seen as a belated establishment attempt to bring Steward into the fold so that the establishment doesn’t have to spend too many millions defending itself against him…
It’s a valid point.
· Steward’s money has raised the stakes in a number of fierce primaries and the corresponding factions within the Republican Senate Caucus.
· Plus, there’s Steward’s role in the Title IX debate which gave some Republicans heartburn.
Moon Takes Animals’ “Manhood”
Maybe this plays well in his Republican primary? I honestly don’t know. See it here.
Galloway Wins Clay County Battle
A judge dismissed a suit by Clay County to prevent Auditor Nicole Galloway from performing an audit. See the order here.
Galloway’s statement: This is a major victory for Clay County taxpayers. This lawsuit represented an unprecedented level of obstruction. With its dismissal, the Clay County Commission should fully cooperate with the audit that citizens demanded. My office is committed to getting the answers Clay County residents deserve and will move forward with audit work.
What It Means
There’s a big election coming next year in Clay with the potential to change the way things are run.
· Former Republican Rep. Doug Ervin has filed to run against incumbent Luann Ridgeway.
· has a problem” in that Ervin will be a very tough competitor.
· And Democratic Rep. Jon Carpenter is also running against incumbent Commissioner Gene Owen.
· Either winning would give Republican Commissioner Jerry Nolte the ally he needs to no longer be steamrolled.
Time to Reform “Paid For” Rules?
Veteran Democratic operative Jac Cardetti – on Twitter – mentions “political tv ads, radio and direct mail are required to disclose who paid for them. Not so for digital ads. It’s time for that to change.”
And
And interesting article from the NYTimes a few days ago about the difference between Trump and the Democratic presidential campaigns in using digital. See it here.
That campaigns are now being fought largely online is hardly a revelation, yet only one political party seems to have gotten the message. While the Trump campaign has put its digital operation firmly at the center of the president’s re-election effort, Democrats are struggling to internalize the lessons of the 2016 race and adapt to a political landscape shaped by social media…
The Democrats… are largely running what other experts and political operatives compared to brand-loyalty campaigns, trying to sway moderates and offend as few people as possible, despite mounting research that suggests persuasion ads have little to no impact on voters in a general election…
Democratic digital operatives say the problem is a party dominated by an aging professional political class that is too timid in the face of a fiercely partisan Republican machine…
[T]he Democratic establishment was too focused on winning over imagined moderates, instead of doing what the Trump campaign has done: firing up its base….
Previewing the Weekender
MOScout/Remington poll on impeachment, and the Hallway on CLEANER….
New Committees
Rich Finneran formed a candidate committee (Finneran For Missouri) to run for attorney general as a Democrat.
$5K+Contributions
Viceroy PAC - $10,000 from Golden Entertainment.
Supporters of Health Research and Treatments - $57,000 from Sam Fox.
MO Opportunity PAC - $25,000 from Kevin Knasel.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Redditt Hudson and Shantel Smith.
Saturday: Lauren Hieger and Jennifer Bukowsky.
Sunday: Kurt Schaefer, Jay Houghton, and Stacey Jones Preis.
And
Just switched phone – texts not coming through yet. Email (dave@moscout.com) or call (314-255-5210) with your tips/feedback today.