MOScout Daily Update: Greitens PAC Gets $1M - Onder to Onder - Health Report Ignored - Nov Revenue - MEC in DC - Barky Sentencing and more...
Greitens SuperPAC Get $1M
Fox News reports that “Home Depot Founder Bernie Marcus has put $1 million behind former Gov. Eric Greitens in the 2022 U.S. Senate race in Missouri, Missouri First Action told Fox News. Marcus gave the donation to Missouri First Action in order for the organization to purchase media supporting Greitens' Senate campaign.”
This is a nice shot in the arm for the Greitens campaign as his fundraising has sputtered early on. Greitens’ candidate committee finished last quarter with essentially no cash on-hand.
But a million dollars will buy a lot TV ads come next summer…
Barklage Sentencing Day
Today veteran political consultant David Barklage is scheduled to be sentenced.
Onder Hearts Onder
In the large contributions (below) James Onder gives $100,000 to the campaign committee of his brother, Sen. Bob Onder. James is a successful attorney. Bob, now running for St. Charles County Executive instead of a state level position, is no longer subject to the contribution limits.
Onder, facing incumbent Steve Ehlmann in the Republican primary, already had a fundraising lead before this contribution.
Schmitt on Tucker
Attorney General Eric Schmitt was on Tucker Carlson talking about his lawsuit to stop the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate. See it here.
Well look… this has never been about facts or science or data. It’s about aggregating power and control. And they want to exercise it. If the Left had it their way, you’d have Fauci in his black turtleneck, in his tweed jacket dictating how we live our lives. But thankfully this is still America…
MEC in DC
Pro-life and pro-choice advocates were closely watching the US Supreme Court yesterday as potentially landmark cases dealing with abortion were being argued.
Spotted in the crowd in Washington DC… Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman. See her here.
Pre-Filed Bills
No shortage of bills filed yesterday in advance of next month’s legislative session. See the House pre-files here. See the Senate pre-files here.
Just scanning through, looks like a lot of bills dealing with COVID, and CRT.
· Of note, Sen. Eric Burlison’s SB 666 (insert your own devil joke here) will strengthen Missouri’s Stand Your Ground law... Under current law, the burden falls on the defendant to prove he or she reasonably believed physical or deadly force was necessary to protect themselves or a third person. Under Sen. Burlison’s legislation, there is a presumption of reasonableness that the defendant believed physical or deadly force was necessary to protect themselves or another individual… “Sadly, we have recently watched the justice system be used as a weapon against law-abiding citizens for simply defending themselves. No one should have their lives ruined like what has happened to Kyle Rittenhouse,” said Sen. Burlison.
Gov, AG Ignore Health Report
Missouri Independent reports that the state health department concluded that mask mandates are effective in lowering the spread of COVID. The finding that was never publicized, and is disputed by the attorney general’s office. Read it here.
· Mask mandates saved lives and prevented COVID-19 infections in Missouri’s biggest cities during the worst part of the delta variant wave, an analysis by the state Department of Health and Senior Services shows. But the analysis, conducted at the request of Gov. Mike Parson’s office in early November, was never made public…
· The records show the analysis was produced in response to a request from Alex Tuttle, Parson’s liaison to the health department. “Can you provide examples of local mandates and how those mandates impacted the spread of COVID in those areas?” Tuttle wrote in an email sent Nov. 1 to [state health Director Donald] Kauerauf. The department completed the analysis about 48 hours later…
· The analysis will not change its stance against mask mandates, [AG] spokesman Chris Nuelle wrote in an email. “We dispute this premise and these charts,” Nuelle wrote. “We’ve been clear that Missourians should have the right to make their own decisions, and that government bureaucrats shouldn’t be mandating masks or vaccines. We will continue to fiercely litigate our lawsuits against mask mandates in Missouri.”
· Missouri's decision not to release public health data showing a demonstrable difference in COVID-19 infection and death in masked communities is notable and reflects the deep political polarization surrounding pandemic policies, one expert said.
Strong November Revenue
November state tax receipts were strong again. There were gain across all revenue categories. Net general revenues were 19% higher than the same month a year ago.
For the fiscal year to date, revenues are now about flat with last year, down only -.69%. As a reminder, this is astounding because last fiscal year had an extra Tax Day in it due to COVID.
This means the extra cash the state accumulated last year remains in its coffers.
O’Laughlin: Watch the Women
On Facebook Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin predicts the Senate women will be impact players this session: Well….we all prefiled legislation today. Here comes another 1100 bills. How many will pass? Not many. My prediction is the women of the senate will play a big part if anything is to get done. We can all sit in the same room and talk like adults. And laugh and work it out if there’s any common ground at all. I like all my colleagues but the women do add a special touch I think.
eMailbag on Kunce
· Democrat “with no dog in this fight:” Kunce's strategy is working. This early you are not persuading regular voters you are raising money and becoming a legit candidate. He did that by placing the ad on Fox. He got people talking about his ad and even got another candidate to engage with him. To win in Missouri as a Democrat you are going to have to do something different and out-of-the-box. Sifton's campaign is boring, has not received any traction, and is consultant-heavy. Kunce is going directly to voters and being the agitator - his fundraising numbers and Twitter chatter show that it is working.
· The crazy thing – and it shocked me when I saw the numbers back in 2019 – is that an awful lot of Democrats actually do watch Fox. Article from The Hill.
New Committee
Fair Play Missouri PAC was formed. Its treasurer is Sharon Dunn.
Lobbyists Registrations
Connor Luebbert added Jones Advocacy Group.
Will Marrs and Kelli Richardson added Mercy Healthcare Systems, and JAG Missouri Inc; and deleted Mercy.
Heath Clarkston, Doug Nelson, and Kurt Schaefer added Hansen's Tree, Lawn, and Landscaping Services Inc., and Save It Recycling LLC.
Tim Green deleted Missouri Retired Teachers Association.
Rodney Hubbard deleted Missouri Bankers Association, and Missouri Cattlemens Association.
Trent Watson deleted Gary Elmestad & Associates.
$5K+ Contributions
Onder For Missouri - $100,000 from James Onder.
Missouri Democratic State Committee - $20,000 from Mark Day.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Brent Hemphill, Theckla Spainhower, Stephen Bough, and Jeanne Sinquefield.