MOScout Daily Upate: Cruz Ad for Schmitt - Senate Stalls Again - WashU Endowment - Fishel Targeted? and more...

Cruz Ad for Schmitt

Texas Senator Ted Cruz has backed up his endorsement of Attorney General Eric Schmitt in the US Senate race with a 30-second ad.  See it here.

It was produced by Schmitt’s Super PAC, Save Missouri Values.

The ad features Cruz speaking directly to the camera, and highlights three actions of Schmitt: fighting President Joe Biden to “secure our southern border,” standing up against school mask mandates, and his joining the Texas lawsuit which attempted to help Trump overturn the 2020 elections.

Save Missouri Values operates independently of Schmitt’s campaign.

What It Means

·         It looks like they’re putting a little firepower behind Cruz’ endorsement so it doesn’t just fade away with no impact.

·         But it could also signal a nervousness that you don’t want to wait too long to deploy resources.  The airwaves will presumably be saturated this summer as outside groups are added to the mix.

Senate Rifts Resurface

Yesterday was another lost day for the Senate.

The very real conflicts within the body were again on display.  Sen. Holly Thompson Rehder decried the demise of Sen. Elaine Gannon’s SB 698 the day before when a pro-life amendment from Sen. Bob Onder led to the bill being put aside.  Thompson Rehder accused members of engaging in a “sideshow” of “who’s most pro-life” instead passing a bill which would increase access to medical services for pregnant women.

Soon after Sen. Mike Moon stood up to express his aggravation with Senate leadership that they reported went golfing the day before, making a shorter work day for the Senate.

Moon has become very comfortable reading a book on the floor to show his discontent.  And he was headed in that direction yesterday when Floor Leaser Caleb Rowden made a motion to adjourn, closing out the day with nothing done again.

Where We Are

·         It appears Senate leadership may have just decided they’re not going to waste time on the floor; they’ll just adjourn – or come in late.  It looks like a move out of Ron Heifetz’ Leadership Without Easy Answers… the toughest problems can’t be solved unless the participant take ownership.

·         Nine weeks left in session (one before Spring Break, eight afterwards).

Also

·         These a huge backlog of Senate bills on the Senate calendar – some from January – which haven’t been referred to committee yet.

·         The congressional map is still on ice.  Sen. Moon suggested that the old districts could be used again for these elections.  I can’t imagine there wouldn’t be a one-person-one-vote lawsuit if we went down that road.

Hein in House 136

Stephanie Hein released an introductory video.  See it here.  She’s running as a Democrat in House 136, taking on Republican incumbent Rep. Craig Fishel.

This is one of the potential 27 battleground districts.  And it may end up being a targeted race by the House Democratic Campaign Committee.  They like the evolving partisan shift in Springfield, and they like this candidate.  It’s next door to Minority Leader Crystal Quade’s district.

WashU Endowment

St. Louis Business Journal pegged Washington University’s endowment as 22nd largest among American university.  See it here.  It comes in at $13.5 billion.

This week, Sen. Mike Moon floated the idea again of taxing the endowment.  The proposal first emerged from Sen. Bill Eigel several session ago, paired with a decrease it the state income tax, and has since been mentioned by other Conservative Caucus members as a piece of their expansive pro-life agenda.

New Committees

We Like Mike PAC was formed.  Its treasurer is Phyllis Q. Daugherty (Florissant MO).

JC Auditor PAC was formed.  Its treasurer is Christopher J. Apprill (Hillsboro MO).

Christian County Republicans was formed.  Its treasurer is Ronald D Sanders (Nixa MO)

$5K+ Contributions

Local Jobs for STL - $15,000 from Centene Management Company LLC.

House Democratic Campaign Committee - $6,101 from Committee to Elect Shawn Hayden.

Jackson County 4 Kids - $10,000 from Drumm Farm for Children.

Legal Missouri 2022   Blue Arrow Missouri LLC.

MBA River Heritage Region PAC - $10,000 from Southern Bank.

Together KC - $10,000 from Samuel U Rodgers Health Center Inc.

Lobbyists Registrations

Ron Bentch added Missourians for Responsible Transportation.

Ward Cook deleted AMAROK.

Dave Sweeney deleted New Legacy Development Partners, Chase Security LLC, Spencer Development LLC, and Bevo Community Improvement District.

Sam Beffa deleted Fischer & Frichtel Custom Homes LLC, and QuikTrip Corporation.

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to Sen. Dan Hegeman, and Rochelle Walton Gray.