MOScout Daily Update: Greitens Fading - Hawley Campaigns with Hartzler - MOChamber Backs Shaul, Jones, - RightPath $$$ to Black, Trent and more....
New US Senate Poll
Here’s a fresh US Senate poll taken over the weekend by Remington Research.
· It shows the negative attacks on Eric Greitens taking their toll, sending him below 20% and into the teens for the first time.
· This should come as welcome relief by the coalition of anti-Greitens folks around the state. I did speak to one long-time observer last week though who wonders if we’re all going to be surprised on Election Day, thinking that Greitens – like Donald Trump – has reserves of support not captured by traditional polling…
· Senator Josh Hawley’s standing among Missouri Republicans is unchanged from the last time Remington polled his fav/unfav. In February 2022, it was 64% approve, and 21% disapprove. The viral video of him running from the January 6 mob appears to have had no impact. MOSCOUT NUGGET: Hawley is joining Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler at her Heartland Tour stop tomorrow in Lee’s Summit.
Survey conducted July 23 through July 24, 2022. 802 likely 2022 Republican Primary voters participated in the survey. Survey weighted to match expected turnout demographics for the 2022 Republican Primary Election. Margin of Error is +/-3.4% with a 95% level of confidence. Totals do not always equal 100% due to rounding. Survey conducted by Remington Research Group on behalf of The Missouri Scout. Find the full results here.
Q1: What is your opinion of Donald Trump?
Favorable: 73%
Unfavorable: 23%
No opinion: 4%
Q2: What is your opinion of Josh Hawley?
Favorable: 66%
Unfavorable: 23%
No opinion: 11%
Q3: What is your opinion of Eric Schmitt?
Favorable: 46%
Unfavorable: 27%
No opinion: 27%
Q4: What is your opinion of Eric Greitens?
Favorable: 26%
Unfavorable: 52%
No opinion: 22%
Q5: What is your opinion of Vicky Hartzler?
Favorable: 40%
Unfavorable: 27%
No opinion: 33%
Q6: The candidates in the 2022 Republican Primary for U.S. Senate are Eric Schmitt, Vicky Hartzler, Eric Greitens, Billy Long, Mark McCloskey and Dave Schatz. If the election were held today for whom would you vote?
Eric Schmitt: 32%
Vicky Hartzler: 25%
Eric Greitens: 18%
Billy Long: 8%
Mark McCloskey: 4%
Dave Schatz: 3%
Undecided: 10%
Q7: The candidates in the 2022 Republican Primary Election for State Auditor are Scott Fitzpatrick and David Gregory. If the election were held today, for whom would you vote?
Scott Fitzpatrick: 33%
David Gregory: 13%
Undecided: 54%
8-Day Reports
8-Day reports are due by 5PM today. It’ll give us our final look under the financial hoods of candidates before next week’s primary election.
Some committees have already filed their report. Here are few interesting starters…
· Aegis PAC and Gladius PAC both filed. They were both been funded by RightPath PAC ($75K to Gladius, matched by $75K from Rex Sinquefield; and $85K to Aegis). The 8-Day reports show that these PACs are supporting Republican Reps. Rusty Black (in Senate 12) and Curtis Trent (in Senate 20).
· Let’s Go Brandon PAC is hitting Sen. Paul Wieland HARD. The new-ish PAC is funded by Herzog Contracting ($75K) and Ketchmark & McCreight ($71K). The 8-Day report shows about $90K spent attacking Wieland in his Jefferson County Executive race. Axiom Strategies is handling the mail and digital. Looks like Team Graves hitting Wieland after he gave Todd Graves a tough time in his Senate confirmation for the Mizzou Board spot.
Non-Committee Reports
In addition to the 8-Days, it’s good to keep an eye on the non-committee expenditures.
· Missouri Chamber’s Political Institute have been filing some of these: $40K+ spent in support of Rep. Dan Shaul in Senate 22; about $40K spent in support of Bob Jones in Senate 26, as well as $30K supporting incumbent Sens. Justin Brown and Bill White.
· Realtors are sticking with the incumbent Republican senators also. In this filing, the biggest expenditures are also for Sens. Brown and White, about $45K each. They’re also supporting Karen Vennard running in House 108.
ABL (Anyone But Linda)
I had to stop the car and take a picture of this sign in Jefferson County.
And then of course I had to Goggle “Linda Schroeder” to see what the fuss is about. She’s running for Jefferson County Council.
· The anti-Linda folks have a Facebook group here.
· Read an old Post-Dispatch article here explaining that her 73-minute “address” during a public comment portion of a meeting led to the 5-minute rule in JeffCo.
· And finally, from a lawsuit she filed… Chief Locke stated that he initially pulled the plaintiff over intending only to give her a verbal warning. During the stop, plaintiff became argumentative and hostile… Chief Locke wrote plaintiff a ticket for "Improper Lane Usage (Driving in passing lane)," but plaintiff refused to sign the ticket. Plaintiff acknowledged that she understood signing the ticket was not an admission of guilt, but simply an acknowledgment of receipt and agreement to dispose of the matter. Plaintiff was told the consequences of a failure to sign would be her arrest and having her car towed. Plaintiff continued to refuse.
Latest Anti-Greitens Attack
A tipster notes that the new anti-Greitens PAC, Hometown Freedom Action Network, has launched a disturbing new website (FiftyShadesofGreitens.com) and is running an R-rated radio ad throughout Missouri stations. Yesterday it filed a FEC 24-hour report showing a $31K radio ad buy in Missouri.
The one-minute radio ad is titled “Her Shoes.” It starts with a warning of its graphic nature. Listen to it here.
It was produced and distributed by Patrick Media of Marshfield, Missouri. The spot is the hardest hitting to be on radio against Greitens yet, asking voters to imagine their wife, mother, sister, daughter being abused by Greitens in his basement as his alleged victim K.S. was in 2015.
It's unclear who is funding Hometown Freedom Action Network, but in an interesting twist, the treasurer of this latest anti-Greitens PAC is Dustin McIntyre of Alexandria, Virginia. McIntyre is also the treasurer for SEALS FOR TRUTH, which was pro-Greitens in 2016 and infamously made a late untraceable contribution of $1.9M into the Missouri state governor’s race, launching years of campaign finance complaints.
Babies and Bullets
Is it me or is this a bit jarring? I get that the Republican Party is both pro-life and pro-gun, but putting the bullets image next to the baby hits me wrong. This comes from a lit piece in House 106 (St. Charles, Hannegan district) where a spirited four-way Republican primary is sprinting to the finish.
$5K+ Contributions
Conservative Solutions for Missouri PAC (pro-Coleman) - $25,000 from Rex Sinquefield.
Jeff PAC (pro_Roorda) - $10,000 from MO Republican Attorneys for Civil Justice PAC.
Missouri Forward PAC (pro-Rowden) - $10,000 from Missouri Senior PAC.
Missouri Forward PAC - $10,000 from Missouri Growth PAC.
Missouri Forward PAC - $10,000 from MO Majority PAC.
Missouri Forward PAC - $10,000 from Missouri C PAC.
Missouri Forward PAC - $10,000 from Conservative Leaders of Missouri LLC.
Committee To Elect Robert Sauls - $10,000 from Robert Sauls.
Gannon For Jefferson County - $24,000 from Six County PAC.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Rep. David Tyson Smith, Charlie Shields, Jay Atkins, and Megan-Ellyia Green.