MOScout Daily Update: GOP OK With Mask Mandate? - Special Starts - Page to Tighten STL County? - New Wulff Ad - Non-Committee Expenditures and more...
Special Starts Today
Special session starts today when the Senate gavels in at Noon. Just the opening mechanics are expected.
Meanwhile, Emily Manley reports that seven House staffers have reported positive for COVID.
“All seven employees are at home self-quarantining and are not working in the building. COVID test will be available for those working in the Capitol Monday and Tuesday.”
Non-Committee Expenditures
It’s always worth scanning through the non-committee expenditures around election time. Look at them here.
· Opportunity Solutions Project and Americans for Prosperity each spent money against MedEx, but not in great amounts $5-$10K.
· Similarly, KidsWin Missouri and Missouri Rural Crisis Center both spent money supporting Med Ex.
· National Association of Realtors are supporting Cole in Senate 29 and Bondon in Senate 31 among others. See it here. As is the Missouri Chamber Political Institute. See it here.
Driving the Day: Page To Pull Back Reopening?
Post-Dispatch reports that “Missouri’s COVID-19 numbers continued to rise Sunday, following a week of five record-high daily totals. A corresponding rise in cases locally prompted St. Louis County Executive Sam Page to schedule a news conference for Monday morning to announce steps to flatten the curve. ‘New restrictions must be put in place to slow the community spread of this virus,’ Page said in a statement posted Sunday on the county website….”
What It Means
· One week before the primary election, it’s a gusty call to make things more restrictive on a restive population. But the news conference gives Page free media to play the part of the responsible chief executive.
· Remember, St. Louis County is the largest county in the state by population, and by economic output. A retrenching STL County is not good for the state economy.
New Wulff Ad
There’s a new pro-Eric Wulff ad from Voters for Good Government. See it here. Wulff is running against Sen. Bill Eigel in Senate 23.
This ad switches form the previous attacks against Eigel to go positive.
What It Means
With Election Day one week from tomorrow, we may have finally reached peak negativity for the primary cycle. Candidates are starting to blend in the positive softer messages as their closing arguments.
GOP OK With Mask Mandate?
The MOScout Poll over the weekend surveyed Republican primary voters in Senate 31 (covers the counties south of KC: Barton, Bates, Cass, Henry and Vernon. See Google map of the district here). I found the COVID question responses interesting.
A near majority thought face masks should be required in public.
Q4: Which statement best describes your feelings about requiring face masks in public?
The spread of COVID-19 is a public health threat, and face masks should be required in public: 48%
The spread of COVID-19 is a public health threat, but face masks should not be required in public: 35%
The spread of COVID-19 is not a public health threat: 8%
Not sure: 9%
Also
As the crisis continues fewer folks are satisfied with government’s response. In parenthesis are responses from Senate 31 GOP voters from April. It shows how difficult it is to keep everyone happy as this drags on. Remember these are Republican voters.
Q3: What is your opinion of the state government’s response to the coronavirus?
They’re overreacting: 28% (16%)
They’re handling it correctly: 40% (64%)
They haven’t done enough: 21% (14%)
No opinion: 11% (6%)
Politico on MO Gubby Race
Getting passed around a lot over the weekend, this Politico piece about Missouri politics, “Marijuana licensing woes dog Missouri’s governor”
The governor’s close personal friend and fundraiser, Steve Tilley, is at the center of the probes. He represented lucrative clients who appeared to receive a boost in the licensing process…
In the wake of the investigations, the race has become increasingly competitive, according to polls and rating services. While Missouri is firmly red when it comes to presidential elections, state offices are another matter: Democrat Jay Nixon served two terms as governor from 2009 to 2017. POLITICO rates the governor’s race as “Lean Republican,” though many observers acknowledge that Galloway is making significant inroads.
Parson’s defenders, including Republican political strategist David Barklage, suggest the blow-up is more a matter of intra-party politics and won’t resonate with voters.
"In terms of campaigning I just don’t see [the impact]," Barklage said…
Gubby Appt
Governor Mike Parson appointed Julia Meiners Koester as Associate Circuit Judge for the 32nd Judicial Circuit. She will fill the Associate Circuit Judge vacancy created by the appointment of the Honorable Scott Lipke to Circuit Judge.
eMailbag on McCloskeys
I chuckle every time I see you write the McCloskeys have become the darlings of the GOP. They haven’t. What they have given to the GOP is the ability to clearly demonstrate they (GOP) walk not just talk the 2nd amendment, regardless of whose rights are being trampled.
New Committees
Dale Speelman formed a candidate committee (Committee to Elect Dale Speelman) to run for House 156 as a Democrat.
$5K+ Contributions
Finneran for Missouri - $20,000 from Rich Finneran.
jasonbeanforsenate.com - $20,000 from Jason Bean.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Congressman Lacy Clay, Shanon Hawk, Jack Gamble, and Jim Avery.