MOScout Daily Update: Schmitt Hits $1M - Ozark Group Wants Casino - Clay Registers - Ambassador McCaskill? and more...
Schmitt Hits $1M
Live this morning, Attorney General Eric Schmitt joins the Ruthless podcast (see it here). I’m told that in the interview Schmitt will talk about his most recent quarter and that he hit the $1 million mark in contributions. That doesn’t include money in his PAC.
What It Means
· It’s a hot start for Schmitt, and it shows he’s immediately closing the money gap he had with the congressional candidates who have been on the sidelines thinking about the race.
· While I won’t deny that a Trump endorsement will be the A-bomb of this race, a big quarter like this has to worry potential candidates like Congressmen Jason Smith and Billy Long. They’re whiling away the hours working on a Manhattan Project, and Schmitt is digging and dialing every day, putting money in the bank.
Guilfoyle Headlines Naples Fundy for Greitens
Kimberly Guilfoyle will be in Naples for the first time for ONE NIGHT along with former Missouri Governor Eric Greitens. Eric is running for to be the next US Senator from Missouri and we are thrilled to announce that we have a fantastic event happening right here in Naples on June 24th. We would love for you to join us either at the reception or the small intimate dinner. Both fundraising events are benefiting Eric Greitens election campaign. Kimberly is the National Chair for the campaign and this is sure to be a unforgettable evening.
Wagner’s Wonky Talk
Congresswoman Ann Wagner’s twitter feed has typically been mostly “red meat” lately with a possible US Senate race on the horizon. But yesterday’s tweet about a recent Financial Services Committee hearing chuckles from some observers…
“Maybe at Jasper County Lincoln Days, Ann can test whether MODERNIZE DISCLOSURE FOR INVESTORS is this cycle's BUILD THE WALL…”
Driving the Day: Ashcroft Mid-Summer Fundy
Word is that Team Ashcroft will announce that it’s lassoed a big national name to headline a mid-summer fundraiser.
The prospect of a high-profile fundraiser years before Jay Ashcroft’s next election (governor 2024 is the expectation) shows his team is already getting serious and putting pieces in place.
Ambassador McCaskill?
Axios reports that Claire McCaskill is under consideration for a “plum ambassadorship in western Europe — another sign President Biden will tap party allies over big dollar donors when he starts to name his political ambassadors as soon as next week.” Read it here.
Clay Registers
Former Congressman Lacy Clay has registered to lobby in Missouri. The first company he’s representing is Blackhawk Network Inc. Blackhawk “is a privately held company that operates in the prepaid, gift card and payments industries. It sells branded physical and digital gift, phone, prepaid debit, and incentives cards online and through a network of global retailers.”
After his 2020 defeat, Clay joined the DC office of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP. See his company bio here.
Vescovo Forms Rural Broadband Committee
Speaker Rob Vescovo formed the Special Interim Committee on Broadband Development. Rep. Louis Riggs was appointed Chair.
Other members: Reps. Travis Fitzwater, Bishop Davidson, Travis Smith, Sara Walsh, Wes Rogers, and Jay Mosley.
And
· Reps. Wayne Wallingford (Chair), Lisa Thomas, Travis Smith, Suzie Pollock, Kimberly-Ann Collins and Patty Lewis were appointed to the Subcommittee on Mental Health Policy Research.
· Reps. Marlon Anderson, Ed Lewis, and Nick Schroer were appointed to the Joint Committee on Education.
· Rep. Bill Hardwick was appointed to the Missouri Military Preparedness and Enhancement Commission.
Ozark Group Seeks Casino
News Tribune has an interesting article about a group in Lake of Ozarks area itching to bring a casino to the area. See it here.
· A casino could be coming to the Lake of the Ozarks, according to the spokesman for the investment group behind the efforts. "It's gonna happen one way or another," Osage River Gaming spokesman Tim Hand said.
· Current Missouri law only licenses 13 casinos, and they must be within 1,000 feet of the Mississippi or Missouri rivers. These two constraints — limited licenses and geographic rules — are preventing Hand's group from opening a casino at the Lake of the Ozarks, but they are trying to get around this by amending the Missouri Constitution.
· If one of the 13 casinos shuts down, its license becomes available, and the Missouri Gaming Commission awards the license to another group. The last time this happened was in 2009 when the President Casino in St. Louis closed.
· Osage River Gaming formed around that time in hopes of getting the laws changed and earning a license. Hand said the group is made up of a half-dozen "affluent business people" who own businesses in the Lake of the Ozarks area. The only known members of the group are Hand and Steve Kahrs, co-owner of Osage Catfisheries.
· Hand said Osage River Gaming believes four casinos in Missouri are underperforming, with two of those are in especially poor shape.
FGA Video Features MO Pols
The Foundation for Government Accountability (see their website here) has a video about the value of work featuring SOS Jay Ashcroft, LG Mike Kehoe, Rep. Derek Grier. See it here.
More on STL Redistricting Drama
[Something you] failed to mention when it comes to City redistricting is that: There is fear among the Black Caucus that the redistricting process could lessen minority representation. The city's race breakdown approximately 50/50 and if the process fails oversight and accountability (non-elected commission) we could see a map that lends itself to a map that would lessen black representation and ignore many north of Delmar neighborhoods. Reed has prided himself for decades on ensuring a strong black caucus and black representation. This redistricting could be Reed's legacy to the city he has served for decades.
eMailbag: Actually Another Tax Cut Is Coming
With respect to a future 509 tax cut, I believe the Wayfair bill triggers a 509 tax cut in a couple years whether they hit the revenue requirement or not…
eMailbag on Workforce Development…
The worker shortage isn’t just in manufacturing. Almost all (if not all) union construction trades are having problems finding members for work they have right now. The gas tax will provide much-needed projects for our state and the union trades are gearing up now to train that workforce through their apprenticeship programs. They are just having trouble finding enough people even with investment in recruitment. Trades are having to do something they have never done before and invest in large-scale advertising to find members ready to work.
Lobbyists Registrations
Lacy Clay added Blackhawk Network Inc.
Heath Clarkston, Doug Nelson, and Kurt Schaefer added Missouri Alliance for Children and Families.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Becky Lohmann, Bob Dixon, Scott Leiendecker, and Debbie Monterrey.
MOScout Schedule
Long weekend ahead for Memorial Day. After tomorrow’s update, I’ll be off until Tuesday. Then, happy to say, I’ll be resuming the normal schedule with weekend editions.