MOScout Daily Update: Final Fundraising Week - Abortion Eclipses Parson Agenda - Farm Woes Loom - Engelby Tees and more...
Final Fundraising Week of July Quarter
We’re in the final week for this fundraising quarter. It’s an off-cycle year. Still this quarter will still draw some attention.
· The primary election is now in sight – a little over a year away.
· Campaign contribution limits mean it takes more time to gather enough checks to run a full campaign. The days for whale-hunting for the single donor are over – especially for legislative primary fights that can’t count on massive third-party help.
· Dems, in particular, need to get their statewide slate in place. This means an official decision from Auditor Nicole Galloway that can provide some clarity for other folks as they figure where they fit in.
State Senate COHs to watch…
· Can Rep. Doug Beck show a good head-start to make Republicans play catch-up in Senate 1?
· How much will Rep. Steve Roberts have to show after kicking off for Senate 5?
· Can incumbent Sens. Caleb Rowden (Senate 19) and Lauren Arthur (Senate 17) build substantial war-chests to dissuade efforts to unseat them?
· Will there be any clear leaders in the looming Senate primaries (Justice, Shawan in Senate 25; and Rehder, Swan in Senate 27)?
· And we’ll get a look at David Cole’s first quarter since starting a campaign account (Senate 29).
Latest Abortion Fight News
Post-Dispatch reports that “St. Louis Circuit Judge Michael Stelzer extended his June 10 preliminary injunction through 5 p.m. Friday to give the clinic in St. Louis time to challenge the state's decision to deny its license to the Administrative Hearing Commission… Stelzer's ruling also dismissed other counts in the lawsuit, removing the case from state courts and ordering that it be taken up with the AHC. The panel handles licensing disputes between state agencies, businesses and people….”
What It Means
The news stream on this issue has fresh headlines every couple of days. It’s easy to lose sight of the big picture…
· The Parson administration, so focused during his first year on his priorities of workforce development and infrastructure, has seen their economic agenda completely eclipsed in the last month.
· The economic message was a solid re-election message. The strong economy is providing a tail-wind, and Governor Mike Parson can point to his efforts to take some credit for it.
· The multi-front war on abortion solidifies the conservative base. But it’s messy and unmanageable.
· And it gives Auditor Nicole Galloway an opening. Instead of a binary pro-life/pro-choice split which favors Republicans in Missouri. Parson is defending an extreme blanket abortion ban against a younger woman who can question why he signed a bill without exemptions for rape.
Farm Woes
Politico reports on farming woes, exacerbated by the Trump trade wars and flooding. Farmers have seen their net income plummet by half since 2013 and are now expected to hold nearly $427 billion in debt this year — the most since the farm crisis in the 1980s. The default rate for farm loans held by banks hit its highest level in seven years in the first three months of 2019…
The Kansas City Federal Reserve’s quarterly Ag Credit Conditions Report is a good place to keep an eye on this. Skim through it here.
Farm income decreased across the Tenth District and the trend of steady deterioration in agricultural credit conditions continued in the first quarter of 2019. With low income weighing on farm finances, the pace of decline in farm loan repayment rates increased slightly. In addition, carry-over debt increased again for many borrowers and bankers continued to restructure debt and deny a modest amount of new loan requests due to cash flow shortages. Major flooding and blizzards across some regions in the District late in the first quarter may also put additional financial pressures on some farm borrowers as damages continue to be assessed.
Engelby Starts Clothing Line
Erica Engelby, Legislative Director for the Speaker of the House, writes on Facebook: After months of hard work, I’m so excited to finally introduce y’all to my recently launched company, Chic Politico!! At Chic Politico, we create apparel and accessories that celebrate conservative women and their beliefs…
Sample taglines: Young, Wild, & Free; You Had Me At Limited Government; Say No to Socialism; and Conservatives and Cute….
O’Donoghue Joins St. Louis Public Radio
Julia O’Donoghue tweets that she’ll “be joining @stlpublicradio as a politics reporter next month!” She was previously the statehouse bureau chief at the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Follow her here.
Clay Endorses Harris
Congressman Lacy Clay endorsed Kamala Harris for President. “Kamala has the courage, vision and backbone to fight for equal justice, restore our democracy, and unite the American people,” said Clay.
Ballman Sentenced
News Tribune reports that “a former legislative assistant who worked in the state Capitol has been sentenced to five years in federal prison without parole for a federal pornography charge. The case of Carter Ballmann, 25, of Jefferson City, had been moved from Cole County Circuit Court to federal court. Ballmann pleaded guilty in February and was sentenced Friday. Ballmann pleaded guilty to one count of attempted receipt of child pornography, according to U.S. Attorney's Office officials. He has been detained in federal custody since his guilty plea…”
Ballman worked for Rep. Mark Matthiesen.
Lobbyists Registrations
Mike Gibbons and Tricia Workman deleted Corizon.
Thomas Liu added BofA Securities Inc.
Krystal Joy added Otsuka America Pharmaceutical Inc.
$5K+ Contributions
City of Fountains Committee - $15,000 from CHIPP Political Account.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays St. Louis City Alderpeople Christine Ingrassia and Joe Vaccaro as well as the mighty Jason Rosenbaum.