MOScout Daily Update: Scharf for AG... Axiom for Scharf - Leathers Exits Workforce Office - Kidd for Senate 11 and more...

Good morning… I had a really wonderful long weekend.  Just got in late last night, please bear with me one more day.  Lobbyists registrations took me a long time this morning and I’m not yet up to speed on everything. 

What have I mentioned in the past couple days? Send your tips/comments/rants to dave@moscout.com...

Scharf Announces

From the announcement: Former federal prosecutor and conservative activist Will Scharf launched a candidate committee for statewide office today, signaling a run for election in the 2024 cycle.  “I’ve put hardened criminals in prison, and I’ve put constitutional conservatives on the Supreme Court,” Scharf said.  “The people of Missouri deserve strong, conservative leadership, and I’m ready to fight back against the woke left and out-of-control federal government to defend our rights and liberty.”  Scharf served as an Assistant US Attorney assigned to the Violent Crimes Unit in St. Louis, one of the most dangerous cities in America.  He was also instrumental in the confirmation to the Supreme Court of Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, along with dozens of other conservative federal judges appointed by President Trump. Previously, as Policy Director in the Missouri Governor’s Office, Scharf fought back against the entrenched political establishment in Jefferson City…

What It Means

·       Interesting to note… The contact person on Scharf’s press release was Nick Maddux.  Maddux is one of Axiom Strategies’ consultants, a key player in Team Schmitt.  Scharf will benefit from the Axiom expertise and resources, but also… it’s a vote of confidence that Axiom is backing Scharf, not waiting on Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer who’s also been in the Axiom constellation of candidates.  

·       Greitens who?... Scharf’s announcement mentions his time in the governor’s office without mentioning the governor’s name, perhaps due to Eric Greitens’ tarnished brand in Missouri.

·       Scharf is out of the gate early and aggressive...  How quick is this start? He announced just one week after Andrew Bailey was picked by Mike Parson.  Bailey doesn’t have a candidate committee (that I could find this morning); Scharf does.  In other words, want to write a check for an 2024 AG candidate?  You’re writing it to Scharf right now, not Bailey.

Treasurer Watch

Kurt Erickson runs through names mentioned for the state treasurer pick.  Read it here.  Getting bold-named… Rep. Hannah Kelly, and Sens. Holly Rehder, Sandy Crawford, and Karla Eslinger, as well as Kalena Bruce…

·       Erickson reports the timeline is sometime before Christmas break.

Leathers Exits

On LinkedIn, Mardy Leathers announced that he was exiting the Office of Workforce Development, where’s he’s been director for the past 5+ years.

This past Friday I completed my tenure with the State of Missouri. It has been the privilege and honor of a lifetime to serve my fellow Missourians over the past five years. Together, we made great strides in aligning educational attainment and labor force participation, expanding access to sustainable employment, and helping more Missourians on a path to broadened economic prosperity… Over the coming weeks I plan to enjoy to enjoy the holidays with my family as I prepare my transition to the next chapter…

Kidd for Senate 11

Former Rep. Bill Kidd formed a candidate committee to run for Senate 11. This is where Sen. John Rizzo will be termed out in 2024.  And because of redistricting, the district’s future representation will likely be determined by the Republican primary.  Independence is the population base of the district which extends to cover the entire northwest portion of Jackson County. Donald Trump won the district by 11 points in 2020.

·       This sets up a hot Republican primary with Joe Nicola who ran against Sen. Mike Cierpiot in Senate 8 this summer, losing (50% to 30%).

November Revenues Cooler

We should get official numbers from the Office of Administration today or later this week, but it appears that November state tax revenues had a cooler month.  Sales and use tax revenues will basically flat (+1.9%), with solid individual income tax revenues (+8%).  Together with other tax categories, state revenues were up 4.84% compared to November 2021.  That’s steady growth, but below what we’ve been seeing for the past year or two – and below where inflation is running these days.

·       Fiscal year to date state revenue are up about 14.5% now.  Still plenty healthy.

Lobbyists Registrations

Richard AuBuchon added Missouri Limestone Producers Association.

Brent Hemphill added Guaranteed Asset Protection Alliance.

Connor Andrew Luebbert added Dream Corps.

David Winton and Jessica Petrie added Goodwill of Western Missouri, Empire District - Liberty Utilities Central, and Common Sense Leadership Fund, Inc.  

Paul Mouton added Goodwill of Western Missouri.

Zach Pollock added Winton Policy Group.    

Lee Ann Alexander added American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA).

Alayna Nicole Brown added Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives.        

Deanna Hemphill added Missouri State Medical Association.

Kaylee Adams, Katharine Glenn, Matthew Harding, Bron Jacobs, Kreisel Lauren, Gabrielle Murphy, Grace Nelson, and William Stobie added Associated Students of the University of Missouri. 

David Frantze added Main & Main LLC, Armour District LLC, VTRE Development LLC, Urban Outfitters Inc., Revive Capital Development, HMS Host, and Forrest T. Jones.                                                           

Jacqueline Bardgett added State Farm Insurance Companies.

John Bardgett, Jacqueline Bardgett, and Chris Roepe deleted Insurance Auto Auctions, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, and Rockwood Management Corporation.

John Bardgett deleted Alliance For Progress LLC.

Nancy Giddens and Shannon Cooper deleted Associated Industries of Missouri, Missouri Deer Association, Missouri Energy Development Association, and Association of American Publishers.

Jennifer Durham and James Durham deleted Community Association Institute.

Ashlie Kuehn deleted Juul Labs Inc.

Dusty Schnieders deleted University of Missouri – Columbia, Missouri University of Science & Technology, University of Missouri Extension, University of Missouri-St. Louis, and University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Trent Watson deleted Appriss Insights LLC.          

Kathryn Harness deleted Navient, Attwood Public Affairs, and ITG Brands.

Tracy Kelly Kimberlin deleted Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Ericka Leonard deleted her Bardgett & Associates clients.

Jewell Patek deleted Magellan Midstream Partners.

Stephen Nittler terminated his lobbyist registration.

$5K+ Contributions

Tony PAC (pro-Luetkemeyer) - $266,805) from Prosperous Missouri PAC (pro-Luetkemeyer).

American Dream PAC (pro-Kehoe) - $10,000 from ELCO Chevrolet.

Page PAC (pro-Page) - $12,000 from Protect Saint Louis Freedom.

MO Soybean Association State PAC (MO SoyPAC) - $10,000 from Archer-Daniels-Midland Company.

Legal Missouri 2022 - $25,000 from Triad Bank.

Paladin PAC - $50,000 from J&J Ventures Gaming of Missouri, LLC.

The Leadbelt PAC - $10,000 from J&J Ventures Gaming of Missouri LLC.

Birthdays

Happy birthday to Chris Pickel.