MOScout Daily Update: Koenig for Gregory - Senate Committee Chair Guesses - Axiom Top Firm in 2022 - Aldridge for Alderman? and more...

Gregory Lines Up Senate Support

Rep. David Gregory has lined up some serious support for his Senate 15 bid.  The invite for a mid-January fundraiser shows it will be headlined by Auditor-elect Scott Fitzpatrick and Speaker Dean Plocher.  Fitzpatrick defeated Gregory in the Republican auditor primary last summer.

But the biggest news on the invite might be special guest,” incumbent Sen. Andrew Koenig that Gregory will be seeking to replace.  Koenig’s endorsement could be critical in keeping a right-side challenge at bay. 

Also on the invite: Sen-elect Ben Brown, Reps. Jim Murphy, Bruce DeGroot, and Rep-elect. Justin Sparks, the mayors of Chesterfield and Ellisville as well as power lobbyists John Bardgett, Steve Tilley and Thomas Robbins.

Why This Matters

·       The new Senate 15 is a Republican district, now overwhelmingly.  Parson won it by 8 points.  But solidly – every Republican statewide won it in 2020. That means that the Republican primary will likely determine the eventual successor to Koenig.

·       Gregory’s early start makes him the frontrunner.

Senate Committee Chairs

Here’s my spreadsheet as I try to puzzle together how the Senate Committee chairmanships will fall.

One caveat to these guesses… It’s very possible that we’ll see some changes in the number and scope of committees.  Each new pro tem tends to makes some adjustments.  In my scheme, Pensions is decoupled from Health and added to Banking.  But who knows exactly how Sen. Caleb Rowden will reconfigure them.

And

When committees are assigned, one big thing to watch… where do freshmen senators land? Where are they given vice-chairmanships?  That often sets them up to become chair of the committee down the road.  For example, who will be the new vice-chair of Appropriations?

Consultant $corecard

A look at how much money was spent this year on top Republican political consultants shows Axiom Strategies, as expected, the top Missouri firm.

Jeff Roe has spent the last several years making acquisitions so that his firm can handle every part of a campaign (fundraising, polling, ad buying, etc).  Axiom is often cited as the largest Republican political consultant company in the country.

·       In 2022, they billed over $4.8 million on Missouri campaigns.  They were followed by Victory Enterprises (about $4 million) and Thompson Communication ($2.5 million).  These numbers are all stratospheric, in part, because they include television buys.

·       Axiom took in about 40% of the overall Republican spending in Missouri.

But

When it comes to federal races, Axiom has no peer in Missouri.  Looking at FEC data, Axiom was the dominant Missouri firm working on federal races in Missouri.  They billed almost $10 million in 2022, far more than the $2.6 million billed by all the other Missouri firms COMBINED.

Folks on the Move

·       Rep. Rasheen Aldridge responding to rumors on Twitter that he will be running for alderman… It's been a lot of conversations in the last 48th hours. I'm taking time to talk to my community and family and will make a decision very soon on my next move. Just know I love my community.

·       Luke Reed writes on LinkedIn: I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Legislative Director for the Missouri Department of Commerce & Insurance! Reed was previously with the Department of Transportation.

eMailbag

Congrats to Rodney Gray. Ask any legislator who terms out or is defeated - the Capitol is not the end all be all - in fact they discover the opposite. The trance we put ourselves into when in that building keeps us from enjoying what many others have already discovered. Fun! 

Lobbyists Registrations

Nexus Group added Metropolitan Park and Recreation Dist DBA Great Rivers Greenway.

Travis Lowe added Braden Heidner Lowe & Associates, and American Public Works Association- Kansas City Metro Chapter.

Paul Mouton added Union Electric Co. DBA Amerenue, Ameren Services, Ameren Corp.

Zach Pollock added ATEX Group II LLC. 

Nancy Giddens and Shannon Cooper deleted Distilled Spirits Council of The United States.

$5K+ Contributions

American Dream PAC (pro-Kehoe) - $25,000 from George Weber (Columbia, IL).

American Dream PAC - $7,500 from Evan Corns (Key West, FL).

Missouri Senate Campaign Committee - $15,000 from David Scott (Charlotte, NC).

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to Sen-elect Nick Schroer, Greg Porter, and Josh Haynes.