MOScout Daily Update: Hartzler Announces - Rowden for CD-4? - Perkins Accuser Talks to AP and more...
Hartzler Announces
As expected, Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler announced that she’s running for US Senate. She joins Eric Greitens, Mark McCloskey and Eric Schmitt as formally announced candidates. And it’s very possible we may still see others.
Hartzler launched with a rally which was attended by some of the folks rumored to be considering running to replace her including Rep. Sara Walsh, and Sens. Rick Brattin and Denny Hoskins.
She also released a video. See it here.
Her remarks hit all the red meat topics, repeatedly invoking the person and policies of Donald Trump.
Look for a new Remington/MOScout poll tomorrow on the US Senate race…
Rowden Eyes CD-4
The buzz is that Floor Leader Caleb Rowden will be a candidate to replace Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler. Look for an announcement as early as next week.
This has the makings for a free-for-all.
· I’ve been told that Rep. Sara Walsh is already making calls about the race.
· One source says that Josh Hawley’s state director, Daniel Hartman, could jump in.
· And it seems very likely that at least one of Rowden’s Senate colleagues will join him in the race.
Perkins Accuser Comes Forward
· Emily Orf, 26, spoke to The Associated Press about her interactions with now-Rep. Chad Perkins, after the allegations became public last month. Orf said the allegations are true. She told the AP that she had not spoken to Perkins for years until he called her last year and suggested that she deny what had happened to a police chief who was investigating.
· She said Perkins, a 42-year-old Republican, has been apologetic but told her that if she wanted to avoid getting her name “dragged through the mud,” she could either tell Frankford police Chief Joshua Baker they never had sex or tell him they had sex but not while she was drunk and not while Perkins was on duty as a Bowling Green police officer.
· She said he’s called her roughly eight times in the past year to say the same thing and provided AP with screenshots of phone records showing some of the calls and texts from his phone number.
· Perkins — who has said the relationship was consensual but denied they had sex when he was on duty or she was drunk — told the AP on Thursday that he never suggested Orf deny anything and “never put any pressure on her to say anything that wasn’t true.”
· The AP typically does not name victims of potential sexual misconduct, but Orf gave permission to identify her. Orf has hired St. Louis attorney Al Watkins to handle questions.
Dubinsky Seeks History
Alex Dubinsky announced for House 88, the seat of termed Rep. Tracy McCreery. According to the press release, if successful Dubinsky would be “the youngest Missouri State Representative in over 100 years.” See the announcement video here.
From the press release: Dubinsky has been active in politics since high school, when he began organizing students around the issue of gun violence prevention. He has worked on Capitol Hill, served as the Organizing Director on Cort VanOstran’s 2018 congressional campaign, and led campaign strategy for State Representatives Jo Doll and Bridget Walsh Moore in 2020. Dubinsky is an incoming law student at Washington University in St. Louis.
eMailbag on Smith Sounds Like a Candidate
Jason Smith does sound like a US Senate candidate. In fact he sounds like all the rest. Same message different words. A bunch of nothingness. Can someone please ask him his position on what he would do on the infrastructure bill, assistance with child care, or how about aid for Farmers…
eMailbag Special Session Watch
Interesting. The Senate, and specifically Schatz and Rowden, as top two Senators, have all the heat on them to either do the right thing, and corral the Senate to pass the FRA tax thereby jeopardizing their leadership roles and possibly future races (U.S. Senate and U.S. Congress) for failing pro-lifers, or they make a terrible policy decision not to pass it which is fiscally irresponsible and that would anger just about every insider…
$5K+ Contributions
A Better Missouri Political Action Committee - $40,000 from Anheuser-Busch Cos.
Tony PAC - $50,000 from Joseph P Gray.
Lobbyists Registrations
Brian Lane Baker deleted Lexmark International.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Reps. Gretchen Bangert and Chuck Basye, and Steven Tilley (the big 5-0).