MOScout Daily Update: Inside RJC - Senate Floor Jockeying - SAPA on 60 Mins - Pickel Retiring - Hawley on Manliness - Meet Final 4 MO and more....
Who’s Running for Senate Floor Leader (Jan 2023)?
With Sen. Caleb Rowden rolling out his intention to seek the Senate pro tem spot after this session, here’s a quick rundown on the chatter of who might run for the floor leader position…
· Sen. Bill White is the most vocal about it. He’s currently Assistant Floor Leader. And although he possesses perhaps the largest brain in the Senate, these elections are as much about riding the mood of the Senate.
· “The Mikes” which were repeatedly mentioned: Sens. Mike Bernskoetter and Mike Cierpiot. One source called them the “leaders in the clubhouse.”
· The assumption is that the Conservative Caucus, lacking enough votes to advance their own candidate would instead look to support an alternative candidate. And Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer might fit their criteria as someone they could back who could also win crossover votes from the “regular” Republicans.
· Finally, he’s relatively new to the Senate, but Sen. Jason Bean has a lot of fans. So keep an eye on that over the next several months.
Inside RJC
A Missourian at the Republican Jewish Council conference described the scene…
· Massive crowd, on a par with 2019 when Donald Trump spoke in person.
· Attorney General Eric Schmitt attended a leadership gathering on Thursday night that featured Mike Pompeo; he was around and visible, and donors liked him. It was a good introduction to the group for him.
· Eric Greitens held an event on Saturday afternoon that was well-attended, and that included a few of his major supporters from 2016 who have been not engaged this cycle. He was being shepherded around by Boris Epshteyn. He looked and sounded better than he has in a while.
· Congressman Billy Long was the hit of the weekend. He was working the rooms and hallways aggressively, auctioned off some massive pieces of GOP-themed art and then a flag on stage at the Saturday night dinner (right after Mike Pence spoke) to benefit RJC. He then threw an event that went late Saturday night and featured Kellyanne Conway. Best line of the weekend: “This is my ninth time coming to RJC and this is my first time asking you for money.” That likely struck a chord with donors who had been aggressively pitched all weekend.
Final 4 Missouri
In the large contributions (below), there’s a large apparently in-kind donation to Final 4 Missouri. That’s an initiative petition effort to change the way voting occurs in Missouri. Attorney David Roland filed several IPs (see one here), and is the treasurer for the Final 4 Missouri campaign committee. That committee is in support of a “TBD ballot measure for improving choices and Support competition in elections.”
In my reading of the proposal, it appears to be a way for non-major parties to retain their supporters in general elections through a ranked voting process. A Libertarian, for example, could rank their Libertarian candidate as their first pick, but put a Republican candidate second. And assuming that the Libertarian doesn’t muster enough votes, their vote would then go for the Republican. It would eliminate folks’ concern that they can’t vote for their third-party choice because their vote would be “wasted.”
SAPA on 60 Mins
I grew up watching 60 Minutes, the CBS Sunday evening news program. Last night, Missouri’s Second Amendment Protection Act was one of their stories. See it here.
Think of it like this, for a police officer in Missouri, federal gun laws, effectively, no longer exist. Missouri Democrats and lawyers at the U.S. Department of Justice argue the new law is unconstitutional, but what got our attention is that a significant number of conservative police and prosecutors who love their guns don't like this law.
In the segment…
Sen. Eric Burlison.
Mayor Quinton Lucas.
Butler County Prosecutor Kacey Proctor.
Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys General Counsel Steve Sokoloff.
Rep. Jered Taylor.
Poplar Bluff Police Chief Danny Whiteley.
Pickel Retiring
Chris Pickel is retiring next month. He took over the role of AT&T’s legislative lead from Craig Unruh three years ago after previously being their Regional Director in St. Louis.
Taking his place in the building, and assuming that role will be Madeline Romious. She’s been the Regional Vice President in Kansas City for many years
Schmitt Contra Perkins?
From last week… Attorney General Eric Schmitt has been tapped as special prosecutor to look into allegations that Rep. Chad Perkins was involved in misdeeds from his police officer days. St. Louis Post Dispatch reports…
· The case centers around state Rep. Chad Perkins of Bowling Green, who is accused of having sex with a 20-year-old woman in 2015 when he was on duty as a Bowling Green police officer. The woman involved, Emily Orf, told The Associated Press earlier this year Perkins had repeatedly told her to deny the events as he was running for the state House.
· Documents the Post-Dispatch obtained in May contained numerous references to Pike County Sheriff Stephen Korte allegedly attempting to block an investigation.
· The Missouri State Highway Patrol said in late May it was investigating. A patrol spokesman said last month investigators had completed their probe and had delivered an investigative report to [Alex Ellison, Pike County prosecuting attorney.] Ellison, who said he knew Perkins personally, said at the time he intended to seek a special prosecutor in the case.
What It Means
One lobbyist sees Schmitt “throwing the book” at Perkins. It’s the obvious tough law-and-order play, with the benefit of saying, “look I don’t play politics. I’ll even go after my own party.”
Hawley on Manliness
US Senate Josh Hawley is staking out a position on the issue of manliness. It’s not a traditional political issue, but maybe it works in the context of the country’s ongoing cultural divide.
· Hawley (R-Mo.) told "Axios on HBO" he'll make masculinity a signature political issue, because he claims "the left" is telling men: "You're part of the problem. ... Your masculinity is inherently problematic."
· As an ambitious Republican frequently mentioned as a possible future candidate for president or vice president, Hawley, 41, is using American masculinity to appeal to suburban parents, and to working men won over by Donald Trump.
· "As conservatives, we've got to call men back to responsibility," Hawley said. "We've got to say that spending your time not working ... spending your time on video games, spending your time watching porn online ... is not good for you, your family or this country."
Of Course
He’s not the first to wonder what makes a man. Nearly a half-century ago, Bill Murray was asking “¿Quien Es Mas Macho?” and the Godfather was mentoring Johnny Fontane.
Ellinger for School Board
News Tribune reports that prominent Jefferson City attorney Marc Ellinger is running for school board.
· "I am a proud graduate from the Jefferson City School District and want to do what I can to ensure our children have every tool they need to become successful," Ellinger said…
· Ellinger is a practicing attorney and is a founding partner of Ellinger and Associates. He has served as legal counsel for the Missouri auditor and has more than 29 years of legal experience.He was Cole County presiding commissioner from 2007-14, and is chairman of the Cole County Bicentennial Committee, immediate past-chairman of the Board of Capitol Region Medical Center and chairman of the Senate Bipartisan Independent Citizens Commission.
eMailbag on WWTW
How Axiom didn’t win the week… will be one of the great mysteries of my life… literally highlighted in The NY Times, WSJ, WashPo, and LA Times plus FOX and CNN, but not enough for MOScout.
$5K+ Contributions
Final 4 Missouri - $141,769 from Article IV.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Mr. and Mrs. Harmon, Catherine Hanaway, Steve Webb, Tony George, and Ed Bushmeyer.