MOScout Daily Update: Trump Endorses Parson - Meet Don't Tread on Me PAC - Medicaid Expansion Gets Another $500K - MEC Takes SNAP Challenge and more....

Trump Endorses Parson

It may have the Nieves capitalization thing going on, and it may not be the most eloquent endorsement, but Governor Mike Parson gets the stamp of approval from President Donald Trump – who won Missouri by 19 points in 2016…

@realDonaldTrump: I am pleased to endorse Governor Mike Parson of Missouri. He is very Popular, Strong, and knows what he is doing – he gets it! Based on the fact that Mike has announced he will run again in 2020 for Governor, Mike Parson has my Complete and Total Endorsement!

LA Starts PAC

Liberty Alliance – the Graves-inspired group which made its debut at the State Fair handing out “Don’t Tread on Me” stickers – has formed a PAC. 

It’s called… Don't Tread On Mo PAC.  The treasurer is Chris Vas, executive director of Liberty Alliance.

If Don’t Tread can raise the kind of money they’ve envisioned, there will be three well-funded, independent organizations.

·         Conservative Caucus’ CL PAC…. Funded with $825,000 from David Steward.

·         MO Club for Growth…. Funded with $250,000 from Rex Sinquefield.

·         Liberty Alliance’s Don’t Tread PAC.

What It Means

·         CL PAC and MO Club for Growth are both eyeing primaries where they can have an impact.  Don’t Tread is probably more focused on general election races.

·         So far these are all conservative organizations.  They may be in competition for fundraising dollars with the Missouri Republican Party.

·         Liberals or progressives in Missouri haven’t created a similar infrastructure.  It requires at least one mega-donor to step forward to give it some financial heft.

·         Together with the independent expenditure committees that many candidates have established, the campaign contribution limits are quickly proving porous.

CL PAC’s Time Horizon

The Senate’s Conservative Caucus is in the early part of their Senate career.  Sens. Cindy O’Laughlin and Eric Burlison were just elected last year.  Sens. Bill Eigel, Denny Hoskins and Andrew Koenig are up for re-election next year.

With this time horizon in mind, they’re probably not looking immediately to take a run at Senate leadership races next year.  Rather the 2020 election cycle is more likely a chance to add to their caucus, and amplify their voice.

2022 may be different…

More on MNEA’s IPs

Talking with folks about the MNEA initiative petitions filed, I heard two interesting points.

·         First, you have to assume that all the language in a constitutional amendment was included for specific purposes.  One phrase which could cause charter schools heart burn is the provision calling for establishment of “uniformly regulated” schools.  The reason for charters is to allow schools to experiment outside the regular and rigid regulations which have coalesced in public schools. 

·         Second, there’s good reason to believe that Rex Sinquefield won’t be a fan of this proposal – regardless of which form it takes – and will spend money mounting an opposition campaign if necessary.  That’s a problem (big problem) for MNEA.  These proposals can be hard to pass even without an organized opposition.

Medicaid Expansion Campaign Gets $500K From ???

In the large contributions (below), Missourians for Healthcare received a $500,000 check.  This is campaign committee to pass Medicaid expansion as a constitutional amendment in 2020.  This brings their total to over $2 million since announcing last week.

But who is this $500K from?  That’s a tougher question.  “The North Fund” looks like a dark money PAC.  Googling it’s address brings up this webpage advertising for a “virtual office space.”

My best guess would be it’s a liberal source of funds (think: Soros, for example) which could be used against the campaign if revealed.

We’ll see….

MEC Takes SNAP Challenge

Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman is not afraid.  She’s taking Empower Missouri’s SNAP Challenge.  In fact, she’s taking the challenge for a week instead of three days…

Intended to highlight the difficulties faced by Missourians who rely on the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to put food on the table, the challenge will ask participants to shop for a three-day supply of food for a family of four using only the amount of money available to families from the program.

Presently, SNAP benefits are based on a formula that the USDA calls “The Thrifty Food Plan.” Depending on the age of their children, this plan allows $131-150 of food per week for a family of four. Since SNAP is a supplemental program, not designed to provide all of the food that a family needs for healthy nutrition, our federal dollars do not provide that entire amount. SNAP furnished an average of $1.33 per person per meal in June, 2019 according to the Monthly Management Report from the Missouri Department of Social Services…

IE PACs Update

Thanks to the readers who added a few more PACs to my list.  I’ve updated it here.  It’s now an excel spreadsheet, alphabetized by candidate (another reader suggestion.)

Bits

·         After an evening of fundraisers up and down High Street last night, this morning’s fundraisers (14 of them by my count) start in a half-hour.  This is veto session…

·         As expected, Rep. Rob Vescovo was elected speaker-elect.  He takes the gavel in January 2021

·         I’ve played some small crowds in my time, but I still have never encountered the “more people on stage than in the audience” cliché.   See it here.

Help Wanted

The Home Builders Association of St. Louis and Eastern Missouri (HBA) seeks Assistant Staff Vice President for Public Policy.  “The Assistant Staff Vice President for Public Policy is responsible for planning, coordinating, and/or implementing both short- and long-term initiatives which are adopted by the Association in order to achieve its public policy objectives. In addition, this position serves as the staff liaison for various public policy boards and committees and the HBA Advanced Building Systems and Technology Council…”  See the ad here.

New Committees

Kent Scism formed a candidate committee (Scism for Senate) to run for Senate 3 as a Republican. The current incumbent, Sen. Gary Romine, is termed.

James Williams formed a candidate committee (James Williams For Mo House 54) to run for House 54 as a Democrat.  The current incumbent is Republican Rep. Dan Houx.

Nola Wood formed a candidate committee (Friends Of Nola Wood) to run as a write-in candidate in the House 36 November special election.

KCHOA MO Green Party Chapter – Federal was formed.  It’s a PAC.  Its treasurer is Jo B Crain.

Don't Tread On Mo PAC was formed.  Its treasurer is Chris Vas.

$5K+ Contributions

Missourians for Healthcare - $500,000 from the North Fund.

Missourians for Healthcare - $9.249 from The Fairness Project.

Lobbyist Registrations

Kaycee Nail and Scott Penman added Missouri Appleseed.

Brent Hemphill deleted Connections Academy.

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to TJ Berry and A.J. Bockelman.