MOScout Weekender: Dems Will Get Vaccine - Hallway on GOP House Freshmen - WWTW and more...

Price Saga Continues

Missouri Independent reports on the continuing saga of Rep. Wiley Price following the House Ethics Committee’s report.  See it here.

·         State Rep. Wiley Price IV told The Missouri Independent Friday that he did not intend to give up his seat in the House after the committee found he had lied under oath and harassed an employee who reported that he told them he had sex with an intern.

·         In a letter dated Thursday, House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, informed Price that she would not appoint him to any committees when the new legislative session begins next month.

·         House policies adopted in the fall of 2015 in response to the scandal that forced House Speaker John Diehl to resign state that “no state representative or House Officer may engage in any amorous or romantic relationship” with employees or interns.

Remington/MOScout Poll: Dems Will get Vaccine

Survey conducted December 16 through December 17, 2020. 1,512 likely 2022 Democratic Primary Election voters participated in the survey. Survey weighted to match expected turnout demographics for the 2022 Democratic Primary Election. Margin of Error is +/-2% with a 95% level of confidence. Totals do not always equal 100% due to rounding. Survey conducted by Remington Research Group on behalf of Missouri Scout.  See the full results here.

Q1: When a vaccine for COVID-19 becomes available, will you get vaccinated?

Yes: 82%

No: 8%

Not sure: 10%

Q2: Generally speaking, do you agree with idea of defunding the police?

Yes, I generally agree with it: 20%

No, I do not generally agree with it: 63%

Not sure: 17%

Q3: President Donald Trump has claimed that he won re-election, and that Joe Biden’s victory is only due to fraudulent voting.  Do you think President Trump actually believes he won, or is he deliberately misleading his followers?

Yes, Trump actually believes he won: 40%

No, Trump does not actually believe he won: 52%

Not sure: 8%

Q4: Thinking about the future of the Democratic Party in Missouri, are you optimistic or pessimistic?

Very optimistic: 35%

Somewhat optimistic: 28%

Somewhat pessimistic: 19%

Very pessimistic: 9%

Not sure: 9%

MOScout’s Hallway Index: MLS House GOP Freshmen

I took some stabs at how will be “Most Likely to Succeed” among incoming House Republican freshmen and asked the lobbying corps for their votes on the slate.  24 replies…

RESULTS

1. Bishop Davidson… 0%

2. Tricia Derges… 12.5%

3. Kurtis Gregory… 37.5%

4. Bill Hardwick… 12.5%

5. Alex Riley… 33.3%

6. Someone else… 4.2%

Sample of Comments

·         I have only met 3 of the 5 but Kurtis Gregory has what it takes if he can stay focused on legislating.

·         [Gregory’s] a cool guy and everyone is going to like him!

·         Succeed at what? Doing what the Speaker tells them to do?

·         Tricia Derges is a powerhouse. She will be a force in Missouri politics.

·         [Riley is] very Sharp and works hard- that is a great combination.

·         Bill is a rising star.

·         Gregory gets all the hype because he was a former Mizzou Football player, but the most hyped before session is usually the first to fall. Riley seems like a Jon Patterson type who will quietly be effective.

·         [Riley’s] nerdy af, but smart.

·         You need to meet more of the freshmen if some of these folks made your list. Chad Perkins, Josh Hurlbert, Ed Lewis and Mitch Boggs are all folks to watch.

Who Won the Week?

Kay Hoflander – Elected chair of the MOGOP in 2019, she inherited a party in debt and disarray from Greitens’ scandals. This week she saw the Electors cast their votes for President Trump, highlighting the huge wins MO Republicans had in November.

Gabriel Gore – Mentioned as a possible replacement for resigning U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen.

Todd Graves – The Republican Party power player takes the reins of a new nine-figure foundation aimed at improving education.

LIHTCers – The state program restarts.  It’s been a long road back.

Scott Sifton – Appears to have a lock on the Democratic nomination for US Senate in 2022 – if he wants it.  We’ll see…

Find a downloadable version here.

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to Rep. Nick Schroer, Josh Haynes, Greg Porter, and Megan Browning.

Sunday: Claudia Kehoe, Bob Jacobi, Ben Murray, Dan Bryar, Ellen Sherberg, Bart Korman, and Melissa Furey.