MOScout Daily Update: House Will Caucus on HB 2 - Sinquefield Shake-Up Reaction - New GOP Poll - Drury Passes and more...
House Bill 2 on Hold
I’m told not to look for any immediate decision from the House on the jurisdiction bill passed by the Senate last week.
A good source tells me that the “House will not move on HB2 until the entire caucus is able to meet.” And that will be next week during Veto Session.
The House doesn’t want to be against the governor but there is zero enthusiasm to help him on what’s viewed as a political stunt “that does nothing for most House districts.”
The bill sponsor, Rep. Barry Hovis, is a freshman and likely feels pressure from both sides. I’m told he’d prefer to have a bipartisan bill.
And
The House Republicans will also caucus about the method for voting for Majority Floor Leader after the November elections. There’s been a plan to use electronic devises, but some feel more comfortable with the old school paper ballots.
Sinquefield Reaction
The Missouri political world reacted to news that Rex Sinquefield had dropped his longtime lobbyist Travis Brown.
Most people I spoke to viewed it like a California earthquake: for years, they’d been 100% sure it would happen, but they were totally surprised the day it actually occurred.
But for now there were a swirl of questions, with only conjecture as answers…
· What lead to the ouster of Brown? Most believed that the move had been building for some time, with some citing recent events (collapse of airport effort) as potentially the catalyst.
· Will Sinquefield continue his support of Republicans? Most believed that there would still be financial support from Sinquefield for entities that he has previously supported like HRCC etc.
· Is there a replacement for Brown in the wings? Folks were divided. Some felt that they’d be a feeding frenzy of pitches from prominent lobbying firms; others believed that Sinquefield likely already was receiving counsel from savvy individuals who fill the void left by Brown.
· Does this impact the House Floor Leader race? Sinquefield had heavily supported Rep. Curtis Trent, so this development was viewed as a positive for Dean Plocher whose fundraising capacity wasn’t reliant on Rex.
Driving the Day: Court Hears Life Sentence to Juvenile Case
This morning (11AM) the Missouri Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in Jessica Hicklin v Eric Schmitt, “an appeal from Cole County involving the constitutional validity of a juvenile life sentence without eligibility for parole.”
Of note, Joseph Dandurand has filed an amicus brief. (See it here). He was the judge that presided over the trial and sentencing of Hicklin. He now argues on her behalf.
MO GOP Cheers Poll
We Ask America released a Missouri poll yesterday (see it here) showing President Donald Trump up 5 points (49-44) over Joe Biden, and Governor Mike Parson leading Auditor Nicole Galloway by 13 (54-41).
Dems laughed off the poll, but it’s interesting that there have been several polls now that show Trump’s lead as smaller than Parson’s. That’s a reversal from what we usually see in Missouri where Democrats run ahead of the national ballot.
Generally Dems have assumed that if Trump only wins Missouri by 5, we’ll have a squeaker of a governor’s race.
We’ll see….
eMailbag on Parson Should Show Regional Leadership
I’m looking at Covid Data from the NYTs, and today Missouri is #4 in the United States in most cases per 100,000 over a rolling 7-day period. Also, the White House Covid task force issued guidance strongly encouraging a mask mandate for Missouri. This seems to present a wicked question (one with no good solutions) for Parson. On one hand, if he issues a mask mandate he risks alienating his base — turning off conservatives. On the other hand, no action may mean Missouri continues to rank at or near the top of Covid cases with broad community spread through October — costing him votes from moderates.
It’s also worth noting Missouri and five other surrounding states (KS, IA, TN, OK and KS) are all in the top ten of Covid cases per 100,000 for the rolling seven days. The region needs strong leadership, and Parson (and Missouri) is in the middle. Acting as regional leader could be a way out for Parson?
Watching the Feds
Politico reports that another round of COVID relief may not come from Washington anytime soon. This has big (bad) implications for Missouri’s budget forecast.
Democrats say Republicans don’t understand the magnitude of the problem and are relying on a small bill when a big one is needed. Republicans say Democrats can’t take yes for an answer and are rejecting policies they support in hopes that Republicans go big -- after months of the GOP saying they have no interest in going big….
BOTH SIDES SEEM TO BE TAKING DELIGHT in blaming each other, and they remain trillions of dollars apart with no talks scheduled.
Drury Passes
Southeast Missourian reports that Charles Drury Sr. has died. He was a stalwart Republican, and influential donor.
Charles L. Drury Sr. — a visionary businessman known for his work ethic, philanthropy and a national chain of hotels that bears his family name — died Monday night in St. Louis at the age of 92.
Along with his brothers, Drury established the Drury hotel brand in 1973. Over the past 47 years, Drury Hotels has grown to more than 150 locations in 27 states and is one of the most respected and recognized names in the hospitality industry today…
Born in 1927 and raised on a farm near Kelso, Missouri, Drury and his brothers supplemented the family’s farm income with a small plastering business…
It was in the early 1960s that Charles Drury and his brothers recognized the growth the interstate would bring to Cape Girardeau’s west side. In 1961, they entered the hotel business when they opened a Holiday Inn along Route K near the site of the present Holiday Inn Express.
After nine months with no profits at their new hotel, the Drurys hired an accountant to find out why. They discovered the hotel was making money on rooms, but losing money on the hotel’s restaurant and bar.
That discovery, Charles Drury would say years later, led to the construction of a “rooms only” hotel in Sikeston, the first Drury hotel…
New Committees
Missourians Against Socialism was formed. It’s a PAC. Its treasurer is Thomas Replogle.
Fannie PAC was formed. Its treasurer is Bill Ray.
$5K+ Contributions
Missouri Realtors PAC Inc - $10,000 from St. Louis Association of REALTORS.
Majority Forward - $10,000 from Invenergy Transmission LLC.
Citizens for a Better District 1 - $24,000 from Missouri Senate Campaign Committee.
Change STL PAC - $8,980 from Carpenters Help in the Political Process (CHIPP).
Missourians for Healthcare - $10,998 from The Fairness Project.
Lobbyists Registrations
Tom Dempsey, Deanna Hemphill, and Dave Berry deleted Children's Education Council of Missouri.
Brianne Doura deleted National Council on Problem Gambling.
Mark Dalton and Shannon Weber deleted Rebuild Saint Louis, Inc.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Dave Plemmons, Mark Habbas, Zach Pollock, Rod Jetton, Jorgen Schlemeier, Alan Green, Jack Goodman, Delbert Scott, and Garrett Webb.