MOScout Daily Update: Malek for Treasurer - Early Look Senate Races 2024 - Speaker's Curse and more...
Malek for Treasurer
Governor Mike Parson appointed Vivek Malek as the next treasurer. The choice was heralded as historic because Makel will become the first person of color to hold a statewide office in Missouri.
Parson pointed to Malek’s life as a beacon of the American Dream. Born in India, he came to America in his 20s with $300 in his pocket and built a successful life for himself. Malek has two Master’s Degrees, an MBA from Southeast Missouri State University and an LLM from the University of Illinois College of Law.
But…
Several Republicans voiced criticism to me…
· Lots of highly qualified Republican women who have actually won elections got passed over for a guy that no one has ever heard of. Good grief.
· Yet again he refuses to appoint a woman. He just can’t bring himself to do it.
And
The consensus is that Malek will likely enter the 2024 race as the underdog! If you think Republicans have a knee-jerk reaction to trial attorneys, wait until you see how they react to an immigration attorney. One Republican: “I have no dog in this fight, but it’s not rocket science. If he is the attorney of record for even one person in the country illegally, he will get 20% in rural Missouri. Like literally 20%.”
Two folks sent me this snippet, a testimonial from his law firm website. I’m sure it’s been screenshotted already by any number of Republicans thinking of running for treasurer in 2024…
BTW
Dems cheered the appointment: “House Democrats congratulate Vivek Malek on his pending appointment as state treasurer. The caucus looks forward to building a relationship with his office that best serves the needs of Missourians…”
Early Look Senate Races 2024
Open Republican seats
· Senate 11 – Sen. John Rizzo is termed, and redistricting has made this a Republican district. So far there are two folks with committees formed: Joe Nicola and Bill Kidd.
· Senate 15 – As I wrote earlier this week, Rep. David Gregory is the early front-runner to replace termed Sen. Andrew Koenig.
· Senate 21 – Redistricting changed the shape of this district dramatically, so much so that even the current senator, termed Denny Hoskins, is no longer a resident. Rep. Kurtis Gregory is expected to run for this district.
· Senate 23 - Sen. Bill Eigel is termed, and Rep. Phil Christofanelli is considered a good fit for the district.
Open Democratic seats
· Senate 17 – Sen. Lauren Arthur is termed. Former Rep. Jon Carpenter is considered the front-runner, but Rep. Maggie Nurrenbern could also be a potential future senator here. Rep Wes Rogers has said he’s not interested previously, but you never know depending how things turn.
· Senate 19 – With redistricting, this is now a solid Democratic district. No consensus on who will run here for Dems, but some names in the mix: former Rep. Judy Baker, Rep. David Tyson Smith, Brian Treece, and former Rep. Stephen Webber.
Also
If last go around was any indication we might see primary challenges form the right-wing against some sitting Republican incumbents. Most vulnerable…
· Sen. Elaine Gannon (Senate 3).
· Sen. Karla Eslinger (Senate 33).
eMailbag on Speaker’s Curse
While many long-time "laws" of Missouri politics have fallen in recent years, you can take the "speaker can't get beyond speaker" back even further: the last Dem speaker Jim Kreider subsequently lost a state senate race, his predecessor Steve Gaw lost a statewide race and the one before that was Bob Griffin. Before Griffin, Ken Rothman did get elected Lt. Gov but lost to Ashcroft for governor. You have to go back to Dick Ichord, finishing as speaker in 1960 and later elected to Congress, to get a speaker who had a long-term future in higher office. Most Senate Pro-Tems haven't faired any better than Schatz: other than Peter Kinder’s long reign at Lt. Gov it’s been more than 60 years since a pro tem moved up.
Lobbyists Registrations
Jeremy Roberts added Americans for Equal Shared Parenting.
$5K+ Contributions
Paladin PAC - $50,000 from J&J Ventures Gaming of Missouri, LLC.
American Dream PAC (pro-Kehoe) - $25,000 from Blackford Brauer.
American Dream PAC - $7,500 from Landers 2Automotive Holdings, LLC (Lewisville, TX).
American Dream PAC - $7,500 from McClarty Companies (Little Rock, AR).
MO Renewable Fuels Association Political Action Committee - $10,000 from Missouri Corn Growers Association Inc.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Sen. Andrew Koenig (the big 4-0), Reps. Barry Hovis and Don Rone, Virginia Young, Brendan Lind, and the peerless John Combest (find a link to book here).
MOScout Schedule
Long weekend alert: I’ll do a quickie update tomorrow then no updates this weekend, plus I’m taking off bookending days, Friday (23rd) and Monday (26th). Happy holidays everyone…