MOScout Weekender: JeffCo Reverses Mask Mandate - Watson Passes - Senate 19 Poll - Hallway favors Trent and more....

JeffCo Reverses Mask Mandate

St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports: Jefferson County on Friday revoked the mask mandate it had passed a day prior. At an emergency meeting, the Jefferson County Health Center Board of Trustees voted unanimously to revoke the ordinance. The decision was made after residents raised concerns about whether the board had appropriately notified the public before discussing the ordinance, the county said… The board said it had not determined a date for a future meeting to consider the order again…

Watson Passes

John Watson, who served as Governor Jay Nixon’s chief of staff, died.  In 2015, he was appointed State Auditor to fill out the term of Tom Schweich.  And then later he headed up the Missouri State Employees Retirement System.

Nixon and other reacted to the news.  See it here.

@GovJayNixon… John Watson: Invaluable public servant and friend.  Dedicated his life to service of others.  He wisely navigated the moral and technical vortex of countless public policy   Matters over the last 25 years.

Remington/MOScout Poll: Senate 19

Survey conducted August 26 through August 27, 2020. 536 likely 2020 General Election voters participated in the survey. Survey weighted to match expected turnout demographics for the 2020 General Election. Margin of Error is +/-4.2% with a 95% level of confidence.  See full results here.

Q1: What is your opinion of Donald Trump?

Favorable: 46%

Unfavorable: 51%

No opinion: 3%

Q2: What is your opinion of Joe Biden?

Favorable: 49%

Unfavorable: 47%

No opinion: 4%

Q3: Candidates in the 2020 General Election for State Senate are the Republican Caleb Rowden and the Democrat Judy Baker. If the election were held today, for whom would you vote?

Caleb Rowden: 47%

Judy Baker: 42%

Undecided: 11%

Q4: What do you think is the most pressing concern for state government?

Dealing with the coronavirus: 38%

Reducing violent crime: 22%

Creating more jobs: 11%

Improving healthcare: 10%

Something else: 7%

Not sure: 12%

MOScout’s Hallway Index: Floor Leader Race

The lobbying corps continues to see Rep. Curtis Trent as the favorite in the floor leader race.  Among the comments many noted this is a very close race.  Results from January 2020 Hallway Index in parenthesis.  25 responses…

RESULTS

1. J Eggleston….  0%       (0%)     

2. Dean Plocher….  28%   (33.3%)

3. Curtis Trent….    72%   (63.3%)

4. Someone else…   0%    (0%)

Sample of Comments

·         Will be close but gave Curtis the edge.

·         It’s going to be close, but I think [Trent] wins.

·         This is a real toss up, but I think there are a few factors working in Plocher’s favor including: R primaries were not great for Trent and he can’t really distance himself from YAL; November could remove a number of incumbents that will hurt Trent including Hanegan, Murphy and Helms; and there may be a growing concern about too much power being concentrated in super conservative hands….

·         [Trent’s] got a really good team working it for him.

·         Trent represents the conservative wing of the caucus. Suspect his commits are more enthusiastically committed than the more moderate Plocher.

·         Ideology trumped style during the last majority leader race, so surely that would benefit Curtis Trent.

·         Curtis' vote count is very specific. Dean's is very ambiguous. Curtis clearly has a meaningful lead.

·         I’m a Democrat, so what do I know. But the environment seems to support a Trent over a Plocher.

eMailbag: Biden and MO Dems

[Republicans] have recent polling that shows Biden and Galloway both down by double digits. If Dems feel so good about Biden, why aren't they referencing him more in their own ads? Missouri is a center-right state. McCaskill was to the right of where the Dems are this cycle, and as an incumbent she lost by a fairly significant margin. The farther the Dems go left, the greater their margin of loss.

Who Won the Week?

House leaders – Navigated the competing pressures from the governor, the factions of their caucus and the Democrats to deliver the Senate five bills, all among the silliness of Rep. Nick Schroer’s residency claim.

CLEAN advocates – Scored a big win in the first round of court battles over ballot language.  And while the appeal continues, they’re piling up cash for a campaign: $600K this week.

Jolie Justus – Former senator and KC mayoral candidate lands the general counsel position at Truman Medical Centers working for her old colleague Charlie Shields.

Claudia Kehoe – One Republican described her as “the MVP of summer caucus. It was the first time a lot of representatives have had the chance to hang out with her and she made a great impression. Warm, inviting, fun...”

Find a downloadable version here.

$5K+ Contributions

MO Opportunity PAC - $20,000 from Julia I Kauffman.

Missouri Democratic State Committee - $10,000 from Missouri Realtors PAC Inc.

Evergy Employee PowerPAC - Missouri - $15,000 from Evergy Employee PowerPAC – Missouri.

American Property Casualty Insurance Association Political Account - $36,860 from American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

Terry Dotson for Cass County Sheriff - $9,500 from Robert Cutler.

The Committee to Elect Richelle Christensen Grosvenor as Judge, Teddy Sue Allen, Treasurer - $6,192 from Richelle Grosvenor.

Birthdays

Happy birthday to Robin Smith.

Sunday: Jason Hancock, Lou Hamilton, and Stephen Gregali.