MOScout Daily Update: Predicting Trump? - More on Schatz-Onder - Blunt Tied to MI Effort - PAWed in STL and more...
Predicting Trump
I’m not convinced that the Trumpologists of the world can predict his behavior, but… ABC News reports that the Pennsylvania election may dampen Trump’s appetite for further endorsements.
· Republican candidates in upcoming primaries may have a tougher time scoring a coveted endorsement from Donald Trump, according to the former President’s allies, who say he is feeling more risk-averse amid the deadlocked Senate GOP contest in Pennsylvania.
· One of those allies described Trump as “agitated” by the uncertain outcome in the Keystone State primary, where his endorsement of celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz failed to translate into a decisive win against former hedge fund manager David McCormick…
· A loss for Oz in Pennsylvania would not only add another blot to Trump’s endorsement record — even as he claimed Wednesday to have had a “spectacular” primary night — but advisers say it will also make the former President reluctant to wade into other contentious primaries in Alabama, Arizona and Missouri unless and until a clear front-runner emerges…
More on Schatz Removing Onder
One Senate side source says the removal was because “he appealed the ruling of the chair and mainly for historical purposes. 10 years from now when the ‘next Onder’ appeals the ruling of the chair and the then-ProTem looks at the Journal, they will see the repercussions for making that motion. If nothing is done, then it becomes normalized and will happen all the time.”
· But someone else says there was collateral damage: “I’m sure that Onder could care less about a chairmanship, but it did cut the pay of his staff. It was the talk of staffers inside the building yesterday.”
Blunt Tied to Voter ID Fight in MI
This article from the Washington Free Beacon has been getting passed around Jeff City circles. It ties Andy Blunt’s firm to the voter ID fight in Michigan – but one the wrong side (for Republicans).
Groundgame [reached] a November agreement with a Michigan petition gatherer that paid him $50,000 not to work on any "election reform" issue. [Meghan] Cox personally signed the contract, which the petition gatherer called a "scheme to pay off circulators not to engage" in the voter ID initiative. Just one day before Cox sealed the deal, Groundgame received a $56,000 payment from an equally shadowy political action committee, Protect MI Vote, that the Sixteen Thirty Fund bankrolls to fight voter ID in Michigan. According to campaign finance disclosures, that payment went to Groundgame through a Jefferson City, Mo., address registered to [Andy] Blunt's consulting firm, Husch Blackwell Strategies.
Kunce-Valentine Debate?
In the Dem US Senate primary, Lucas Kunce is itching to share the stage with Trudy Busch Valentine…
“Missourians deserve a real chance to evaluate the candidates and what they bring to the table," said Connor Lounsbury, deputy campaign manager. "We look forward to sharing the stage with Trudy Busch Valentine and the other candidates to debate the issues affecting working Missourians. Busch Valentine has not shown up in person to public forums and events for candidates in St. Louis County, Greene County, Platte County, and Cass County, so we look forward to seeing her at the debate…”
· One Dem thinks Kunce’s populist message with prove more powerful than people are imagining… “I think it'll be a close race. Sure, she'll do a fair amount of TV but her milquetoast message won't energize people.” We’ll see…
PAW’ed in STL
KMOV reports on the PAW backlog. See it here.
· Thousands of local criminal cases are sitting in legal limbo with victims waiting for justice while the people accused of committing the crimes are walking free…
· Here’s what we are talking about, cases referred to as pending application of warrant or “PAWS”. They’re criminal cases St. Louis police have solved, IDed a suspect, and brought to the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office (CAO) for charges. In the past, officers would apply in person in the warrant office in the St. Louis City courthouse. But at the start of the pandemic, the prosecutor’s office went to an email system instead and still has not returned to normal operations…
· The police department acknowledges a “notable” increase in the number of PAW cases. So, just how many? More than 4,400 cases…
· As a point of comparison, however, we did ask other counties about how many cases they have currently under review. St. Louis County said it couldn’t provide the data, because they are still a mixture of digital and paper files.
· St. Charles County could, though. They have approximately 640 cases under review.
· Jackson County, where Kansas City is located, has about 1,700 hundred cases under review. Again, that’s less than half of what St. Louis has on the paw list.
· Meanwhile, cops tell News 4 that even some suspects are saying, ‘Oh, it’s no big deal, I will just be PAW’ed.” And in fact, from our review of the list, there are some people who have been arrested, released, arrested again for a different crime and released again.
Osete New SOS GC
Press release: Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft is pleased to announce the appointment of Jesus A. Osete as General Counsel. Osete will replace Frank Jung, who has held the position since January of 2017 when Ashcroft first was elected secretary of state. Jung is retiring from state government with 32 years of service on June 30.
Palm Appointment
President Joe Biden appointed Joseph Palm to be the Department of Health and Human Services Regional Director for Region 7. Region 7 serves Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska. See it here.
Palm was Chief of the Office of Minority Health at the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services in Jay Nixon’s administration.
Lobbyists Registrations
Jeffrey Aboussie added City of Lake Ozark.
Joe Bednar and Kelli Stiles deleted Tyler Technologies, and Orange EV LLC.
Jim Foley, Jay Hahn, and Chris Liese deleted Micro Electronics, Inc.
George Oestreich deleted Northwest Health Services, Inc.
Birthdays
Happy birthday to Justin Arnold.