MOScout Daily Update: Johnson Drops 4-CD Bid - Duwe to Retire - Missing 2nd Shots - Gubby Appts and more...

Duwe Set to Retire

Veteran politico and long-time lobbyist, Daryl Duwe is retiring. 

According to the bio on the Husch website, he “spent more than a decade covering the legislature for a state radio network, and another half-decade directly involved in the politics of getting legislators and other officials elected. In the most recent past decade, Daryl has been driving public policy as a legislative lobbyist.”

His firm, Prestige Powers Strategic Government Relations, had merged with Andy Blunt’s team in 2017 – a move which ensures his clients are in good hands as he retires.

Duwe, a former spokesperson for the Republican State Party, is also the author of two political thrillers, Borrowed Time and Half Past Evil.

Johnson Out of CD-4

Ryan Johnson announced Friday that he was ending his brief bid to become the next congressman of the 4th Congressional District.

“The past three months I’ve talked with thousands of Missouri voters who agree that Washington is broken, and the failed policies of the Biden Administration are making it worse. We need to have a real conservative leader in Congress representing Missouri’s 4th Congressional District. However, it has also become very clear to me in the last three months that for this stage of my life being Dad to my kids is more important right now than running for Congress. Becky and I have a few short years left to make a real difference in the lives of our teen daughters and young son. In a decade, I would rather look back and be able to say that I invested my time in my children than winning a campaign.”

Johnson became a candidate in mid-June, soon after Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler officially entered the US Sente race.  At the time, only Johnson and Ed Emery had jumped into the 4-CD race. Emery passed away in August.

This leaves three folks now running to replace Hartzler: Rep. Sara Walsh, former County Clerk Taylor Burks, and Kalena Bruce.

Sen. Caleb Rowden is expected to run as well, perhaps with an announcement next month.

Johnson thanked his supporters, among them: Sen. Bob Onder, Gregg Keller, Carl Bearden, Bev Ehlen, Rep. Jered Taylor, and Sandra Thomas.

·         “The Johnson campaign will be refunding donations over the next few weeks as the candidate committee is closed.”

What It Means

Congressional and state legislative races continue to be in flux. 

·         Expect more announcements next month after the September 30 fundraising deadline.  Then new entrants can have a full 120 days of raising money to show a strong first quarter.

·         Remember we don’t even have maps yet.  And if the governor doesn’t call a special session, congressional maps won’t happen until January!

Missing 2nd Shot

Springfield News-Leader reports on those folks who received their first COVID vaccination shot but haven’t returned for their second. 

·         On Wednesday the Springfield-Greene County Health Department said that more than 11,000 local residents who started COVID-19 vaccination are overdue for their second Pfizer or Moderna shot.

·         The median number of days since these overdue residents got their first dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine is 76 days, the health department told the News-Leader.  That's far longer than the delay between doses outlined in guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

·         The Springfield-Greene County health department said Wednesday that its workers will soon begin calling individuals identified as being overdue for their second shot to provide them with information and an opportunity to schedule an appointment

According to the state vaccination dashboard, 62.6% of Missourians over the age of 12 have “initiated” vaccination, while only 55.6% have “completed” the regimen.

And

Axios imagines COVID becoming a second flu…

·         "There is one scenario in which we have a double respiratory virus season each year," former CDC Director Tom Frieden said.

·         Even if the coronavirus continues to kill as many people as the flu does in any given year — which would be a drastic reduction in today's death rate — that would be bad news for the health care system… Some hospitals would struggle to handle the burden, particularly rural and safety net hospitals…. We've learned to live with tens of thousands of flu deaths a year without any major disruptions to our lives. But if vaccination rates don't get high enough, and if immunity isn't long-lasting, COVID death rates could meet or exceed annual flu deaths.

MOIndy Awarded for Coverage

Missouri Independent, the new non-profit covering state politics, won 9 awards from the Missouri Press Association over the weekend. (MOScout was goose-egged AGAIN).

Governor Mike Parson has refused to answer questions from MOIndy reporter Rudi Keller, saying the organization is a “C4 propaganda news agency.”  They are a 501 (c)(3), not (c) (4).

There’s no indication that Parson’s likely successors – Jay Ashcroft or Mike Kehoe – or any other Republican leaders have any problem with MOIndy.  It’s a Parson thing.

Gubby Appts

Governor Mike Parson announced new appointments…

Kasey Griffin, Courtney McGhee, Greg Russell, and Victoria Anne Schwinke to the State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors.

Franklin Shane Terhune to the Missouri Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Professional Land Surveyors, and Professional Landscape Architects.

Dan Wenzel to the Missouri Board of Examiners for Hearing Instrument Specialists.

Trevor Wolfe to the Missouri State Board of Nursing.

Lobbyists Registrations

Jewell Patek added Google LLC and its Affiliates.

David Winton and Jessica Petrie added Epworth Children & Family Services.

$5K+ Contributions

POL PAC - $20,000 from J.E. Dunn Construction Company.

Majority Forward - $18,240 from National Democratic Redistricting PAC.

American Property Casualty Insurance Association Political Account - $6,964 from New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company.

MO-DSV PAC - $96252 from Missouri Health Care Association.

RQC PAC - $98,487 from Missouri Health Care Association.

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to Rep. Becky Ruth, Richard Moore, David Sweeney, and Paul Wagner.