MOScout Daily Update: Trump Cameos Schmitt Fundy - Greitens Gets a Busch - Wieland At MEC Kick-off and more....
Quick Friday update… with pictures!
Trump Cameos At Schmitt Fundy
Not an endorsement, one source says, but still a big night for Attorney General Eric Schmitt, holding a fundraiser at Mar-A-Lago. Former President Donald Trump dropped by and addressed the audience.
I’m not a Trumpologist. I don’t know what it means in terms of Schmitt’s chances of nabbing that coveted endorsement, but it’s definitely not a bad sign.
ROTO (Reminder of the Obvious): The consensus among the political class is that whoever Trump endorses becomes the automatic favorite to win this primary.
Busch Back Greitens
Here’s an invite to a fundraiser for Eric Greitens, hosted at Grant’s Farm by Peter Busch, one of the Busch tribe. It’s a joint fundraising event with Greitens’ Super PAC, so there may be some big checks (up to $10,800) written.
The quarterly fundraising deadline is coming up again at the end of the month, so we’ll be seeing a flurry of these events.
MEC Kicks Off
Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman held her kick-off for Senate 22 last night. And look who showed up, the term limited incumbent, Sen. Paul Wieland.
I’m told there was no endorsement. But like the Trump-Schmitt bit above, not a bad sign for MEC. This is a 4-way Republican primary.
KHN: More Black Gun Owners
Kaiser Health News notes, in a report from St. Louis, more African Americans are buying guns, but worries that gun accessibility is linked to higher suicide rates.
“[A] growing cohort of African American [are] gun owners. Nationwide, surveys found that 25% of Black adults owned a gun in 2021, up from 14% six years earlier.
Gun buying among African Americans has soared in recent years. At the same time, suicide rates have increased among young Black men. Experts believe the trends may be linked, because having a gun in the home increases suicide risk exponentially, for every person who lives there.
But even gun enthusiasts say that the newest generation of gun owners sometimes lack the training and information they need to keep themselves safe around firearms. Homicides in Missouri reached a record high in 2020, spurring even more people to buy guns. But the number of suicides in the state was even higher, and the suicide rate has been on the rise for a decade.”
New Committees
Yes on Prop 1 STL Infrastructure was formed. Its treasurer is Mayor Tishaura O Jones, and the deputy treasurer is Comptroller Darlene Green. It’s a campaign committee to support a $50 million bond issue for infrastructure projects in St. Louis City. It’s on the April municipal ballot. With all the federal money sloshing around, I’ll be interested to see the messaging on this issue.
$5K+ Contributions
MO Cable PAC - $15,700 from Charter Communications.
Missouri American Water Company Employees Political Action Committee - $10,000 from ECM Construction.
AGC of MO PAC – $7,450 from Emery Sapp & Sons, Inc.
Lobbyists Registrations
Heath Clarkston, Doug Nelson, and Kurt Schaefer added US Chamber of Commerce.
Nikki Short added Americans for Fair Energy Prices.
Maria Walden deleted Public Education Employee Retirement System of Missouri, and Public School Retirement System of Missouri.
James Harris deleted St. Andrews Mini Mart.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Floor Leader Dean Plocher, Jay Reichard, and Matthew Choinka.
Saturday: Rep. Travis Smith.
Sunday: Rep. Brad Hudson.
MOScout Schedule
Taking off for the weekend, see you Monday.