MOScout Daily Update: New Valentine Ad Touts Nursing Cred - New Carter PAC Raises $$$ - Smith on Greitens - MOFarm Endorses Hartzler and more...

First in MOScout: Valentine The Nurse

“The Senate could sure use a nurse for a change.”  It’s a helluva tagline in Trudy Busch Valentine’s new ad.  Valentine is running for US Senate as a Democrat.

The ad starts running this morning. 

It’s entitled “Ones You Trust,” and calls out the traits of nurses (compassion, integrity, etc) while explaining Valentine’s personal history as a nurse as a “life of service.”

It closes with the observation that there are plenty of lawyers in the Senate, but “the Senate could sure use a nurse for a change.”  It’s a very effective closing line.

The ad is 60 seconds, twice the normal length of a political ad.  However, after its initial run, it could easily be cut to 30 seconds to reinforce its message at a lower cost.

And

It feels like a general election ad from a different era. The ad is a stark contrast to bombastic “fight, fight, fight” from the entire Republican field.  It feels like a throwback to a different political age when campaigns sought swing-voters instead of pumping up their base, and out-shocking their audience.

Senate 10: New Pro-Carter PAC Formed

In the Senate 10 Republican primary, a new PAC is growing a war chest to help Mike Carter.

Shield PAC LLC, formed just last week, has seen nearly $275K in large checks reported. 

The PAC’s name is apparently a reference to CarShield, the company where Carter is general counsel.  It’s formal business name, NRRM LLC, has given $150,000 to the PAC.

Additionally, it’s said that lobbyist Steven Tilley is backing Carter now, and presumably helping with fundraising.

Senate 10 is a five-way primary with a sprawling district.  While others – Reps. Travis Fitzwater and Jeff Porter, and former Rep. Bryan Spencer – have some name ID within pockets of the district, the large geographic terrain and the splintered field appear to favor the candidate with the greatest resources.  So far, that’s Carter.  He initially loaned himself $500K.

Yesterday I wrote about an internal Carter poll.  One reader replied that, “all his support is soft support… he’s the only one they know.”

That could be, however, with five weeks until the primary, this new stream of cash seems to indicate that the money dynamic in the race might not change.  One potential wildcard still yet to be played… RightPath PAC.

Farm Bureau Hearts Hartzler

As expected, Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler pulled down the Farm Bureau PAC endorsement. Kacen Bayless reports: Group says it's the first time MFB has endorsed a candidate in an open Senate primary election. Calls Hartzler "a strong voice for rural Missouri."

Smith On Greitens Dem Past

Former Sen. Jeff Smith writes in the Kansas City Star about Eric Greitens transformation from a Democrat to a MAGA Republican.  See it here.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with changing one’s mind as you learn more about the world. What irritates people of both parties about Greitens is not that he has evolved from mainstream Democrat to mainstream Republican to ultra-MAGA warrior in less than a decade. It’s that he viciously and sanctimoniously attacks others for taking the exact same positions that he recently held.

$5K+ Contributions

Shield PAC LLC (Pro-Carter) - $ 100,000 from NRRM LLC.

Shield PAC LLC - $50,000 from NRRM LLC.

Shield PAC LLC - $50,000 from Triangle Real Estate.

Shield PAC LLC - $30,000 from Conservative Justic PAC.

Shield PAC LLC - $20,000 from Homesafe LLC (Centennial, CO).

Shield PAC LLC - $7,600 from Alliance for Progress LLC.

Serve Missouri PAC (Pro-McCreery) - $10,000 from Alliance For Progress, LLC.

Jackson County Leadership PAC (pro-Cierpiot) - $25,000 from Rightpath PAC.

BB Freedom Fund (pro-Ben Brown) - $10,000 from 100 PAC.

JanePAC (pro-Dueker) - $5,001 from Craig Suntrup.

Jackson County 4 Kids - $10,000 from Greater KC LINC, Inc.

Jackson County 4 Kids - $10,000 from Rose Brooks Center, Inc.

Birthdays

Happy birthday to Nancy Rice.