MOScout Daily Update: RightPath Reports $2.4M - Team Schmitt Says They're Winning - McDowell for McCloskey - Schupp on Sunsets - Lavender Quarter and more...

RightPath Raised $2.4M

RightPath PAC filed its April report showing $2,450,600 raised.  The contributors of the PAC appear to all have relationship with Washington University.  Press reports have described the PAC being founded due to concern with the direction that the Missouri Senate was taking.

·         The only contribution on the report… $2,400 to Sen. Justin Brown’s campaign committee.

Schmitt PAC: We’re Winning

Countering yesterday’s reports that Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler had internal polling showing her with the list in the US Senate race, the pro-Eric Schmitt PAC, Protect Missouri Values, released their numbers which… showed their guy on top.  See the politico tweet here.

Their April 6-7 numbers…

Schmitt 25%

Eric Greitens 23%

Hartzler 20%

Billy Long 7%

Mark McCloskey 3%

Dave Schatz 2%

The Schmitt PAC notes that according to their numbers, Greitens had declined 11 points from 34% in December while Schmitt has climbed from 17% to 25% in that period.

The Big Picture

·         Every poll has shown two tiers to this six-way race with Greitens, Hartzler and Schmitt usually within margin of error of each other.  And Long, McCloskey, and Schatz in the other tier usually in single digits.

·         It’s hard to see a catalyst that moves anyone from the lower tier to the higher tier.

·         But if/as Greitens fades, we’ll see if Hartzler and Schmitt cous more on each other.

And

Former Missouri Republican auditor nominee Saundra McDowell endorsed Mark McCloskey.  See it here.

I endorsed Mark McCloskey for US Senate.  He is the only candidate who can stop the “Radical Left maniacs” from destroying our Country like Trump so eloquently stated. Missouri has a tremendous opportunity to Save America by electing a fighter who will NEVER BACK DOWN.

·         McDowell is the only Republican to lose a statewide election in Missouri since 2012.

Eigel on Current Situation

Sen. Bill Eigel, on the Politically Speaking podcast with the mighty Jason Rosenbaum, hints that the Conservative Caucus will object to the budget, and that Medicaid expansion could be an issue in Republican Senate primaries.  Listen to his full remarks here.

What are your expectations on how the Senate will handle the budget when it goes through the appropriations process?

We spend way too much money in the state of Missouri.  It’s ridiculous how much money we spend and I hope that the Senate will restore some sanity to what the governor has proposed.

Why hasn’t the allocation of money for Medicaid expansion been as controversial this year as I was expecting?

[That] it is not controversial to other Republicans is I think is one more thing that they are going to have to answer for in many of the elections and primaries that are ongoing currently.

Schupp on Need for Sunsets

The Senate worked for hours and hours on a utility bill (SB 756) last night, finally perfecting it around 11PM.

Sen. Jill Schupp has always taken an interest in consumer protections with utility legislation.  She again was vigilant last night, working in the negotiations on the bill.  Emily Manley quotes her disappoint with the bill.

Nearing hour seven on utilities legislation in the Senate, @JillSchupp  says she’s disappointed because of an agreement made back in 2018. “I think what we’ve done is there is no long-term trust or agreement and that’s disheartening to me,” she said regarding the Senate. #moleg

·         Schupp has argued repeatedly throughout the years that with legislators being term limited, it’s important for legislation to include sunsets.  Otherwise institutional memory among legislators is lost on how compromises were forged, and what concessions were made.  And lobbyists will have an advantage in negotiations.

Lavender Raised $50K+

Former Democratic Rep. Deb Lavender, running in House 98, where Rep. Trish Gunby is vacating to run for Congress reported raising $53,682.

Lavender really only had about five or six weeks of fundraising to the quarter because she didn’t file until the end of February.  With her left-over cash from last campaign, she now has about $64K on-hand.

This is expected to be a competitive race.

Cash Back?

House Budget Chair Cody Smith filed HB 3021 (Appropriation bills are immune from the March 1 final filing date) which would “create a one-time economic recovery tax credit for Missouri residents who paid personal income tax in the state for 2021… Under Smith’s plan, anyone filing an individual tax Missouri personal income tax return would receive up to a $500 credit. Married couples filing jointly would receive up to a $1,000 credit. Smith noted the credit is limited to individuals who were a Missouri resident for the entire tax year…

House Speaker Rob Vescovo, Majority Floor Leader Dean Plocher, and Speaker Pro Tem John Wiemann announced their strong support for the plan as it was filed.”

$5K+ Contributions

Citizens for Sean Smith (running for County Legislature District 6 Jackson County) - $50,000 from Sean Smith.

A Better Missouri Political Action Committee - $27,000 from Anheuser-Busch Cos.

Legal Missouri 2022 - $15,000 from Hamrid Humrah.

AGC of MO PAC - $8,825 from Tramar Contracting Inc.

Committee To Elect Steve Ehlmann - $10,000 from Robert Blitz.

Lobbyists Registrations

Michael Winter added Citizens For Modern Transit.

Birthdays

Happy birthday to Courtney Curtis.