MOScout Daily Update: Jones, Spencer Move Forward in STL - Roberts Steps Up - MedEx Battle Ahead? - Greitens Again and more...

Reed Misses Runoff

City Treasurer Tishaura Jones garnered the most votes in yesterday’s St. Louis City mayoral primary.  She won 25,374 votes, followed by Alderwoman Cara Spencer’s 20,649 votes.  Board President Lewis Reed came in third place with 17,162 votes and Andrew Jones ran fourth with just under 7,000 votes.  See the results here.

Jones and Spencer will face each other next month in the runoff.

It was St. Louis’ first election with approval voting.  Voters were able to vote for more than one candidate, in fact as many candidates as they liked.

44,538 voters cast 69,607 votes.  That means, very roughly on average, that half the voters chose only one candidate, and about half the voters picked two candidates.

April’s straight head-to-head will eliminate this puzzling aspect.

Jones is the presumptive favorite having city-wide before, and winning the most votes in this contest.  But Spencer’s stronger than expected showing adds some suspense.

And there are unknowns within the results: how many of Reed’s votes were voters’ first preference or single votes and now up for grabs, and how many are already accounted for in the totals of Jones and Spencer?

Roberts Steps Up

The Senate debate yesterday on another tort reform bill, SB 7, highlighted freshman Democratic Sen. Steven Roberts’ role as go-to member on legal issues.  He’s stepping into the shoes once filled by Scott Sifton.  Together with freshman Sen. Barbara Washington the Dem caucus has added firepower in the area of tort reform.

Another MedEx Battle Looming?

MOIndy reports on positioning for a possible renewed battle over Medicaid expansion.  See it here.

The $1.6 billion cost of expanding Medicaid to approximately 275,000 uninsured Missourians has been segregated from other spending in the upcoming budget year by moving it into a separate appropriation bill.  The move has Democrats wondering if House Republicans are looking for a way to avoid funding the new health care program and a leading Senate Republican suggesting it may be a path to renewing legal challenges to expansion… Appropriations Committee Chairman Dan Hegeman, R-Cosby, said the bill could be part of a plan for court action to test the constitutionality of Medicaid expansion.

It seems an odd move politically for Republicans to attack the policy which voters just approved. 

Abortion Bill Day in Senate Health Committee

Late years when I asked around about what issues would be coming up in this legislative session, most Republicans shrugged when it came to pro-life legislation, saying that the Missouri legislature had probably gone as far as possible given Roe v Wade limits.  But maybe not.  Today’s Senate Health and Pensions Committee (Noon) has several anti-abortion bills.

·         Sen. Eric Burlison’s SB 168 - The "Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act."

·         Sen. Andrew Koenig’s SB 101 – The "Safeguarding All Children's Remains to Ensure Dignity Act" or the "SACRED Act".

·         Sen. Bill Eigel’s SB 398 - Prohibits expenditures of public funds to any affiliate of an abortion facility.

·         Sen. Rick Battin’s SB 458 - The "Missouri Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act"

Greitens Talk

The talk of an Eric Greitens comeback is going mainstream now with articles in the major papers.

·         Springfield News Leader: If Greitens ultimately decides to run against Blunt, polling suggests he could be a legitimate challenger despite resigning as governor amid allegations of sexual misconduct and campaign finance violations less than three years ago.

·         St. Louis Post-Dispatch: It wasn’t clear Tuesday whether he would follow [on talk] through with a campaign. But his entry would potentially split the Missouri GOP, which last year largely unified around a slate of incumbents — including Gov. Mike Parson, Greitens’ successor — in the August primaries.

One MOScouter: Senator Blunt needs to speak with President Trump.

Committee Changes

Speaker Rob Vescovo made the following committee changes…

·         Rep. Scott Cupps added to the Conservation and Natural Resources committee.

·         Reps. Nick Schroer and Dean Plocher removed from the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules; and Reps. Louis Riggs, Alex Riley and Rory Rowland added.

·         Reps. Bill Hardwick, Keri Ingle, and Mark Sharp were added to the Joint Committee on Legislative Review, with Rep. Cody Smith appointed Vice Chair.

Lobbyists Registrations

Tom Dempsey and Dave Berry added Development Dynamics LLC.

Jay Hahn added Peartree Consulting Group, LLC.

Dale Ludwig added Missouri FFA Leadership Fund, Missouri Organic Assn., Midwest Hemp Assn, and Republic Foods.         

$5K+ Contributions

Missouri AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education - $6,557 from Missouri AFL-CIO.

Victor S. Hurlbert for Clay County Auditor - $10,000 from Victor Hurlbert.

theLOUpac - $25,000 from Anheuser Busch Corporation.

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to John Hancock, Heath Clarkston, Jason Groce, Maria Walden, and Brooke Foster.