MOScout Daily Update: Notes from Summer Caucus - Senate 30 in Play? - Petersen out at KWOS - Mr. Schupp's Golfing Game and more...
GOP House Caucus
Notes from the Republican House Summer Caucus from various sources…
· Floor Leader Race: “Both Reps. Mike Haffner and Jon Patterson held events that were well-attended. The chatter is that six months ago it was Haffner’s to lose, but Patterson has closed the gap and it’s anyone’s race. Rep. Hannah Kelly has a solid base of support with her classmates, but it will not be enough.” That means that in addition to working to add votes to their column, both Haffner and Patterson are probably asking Kelly’s supporters to be their second-round pick. One observer’s guess, “My take is Kelly’s votes split 75-25 for Patterson. If Haffner doesn’t win first round I think he is in serious trouble.”
· Speaker Pro Tem Race: “Rep. Ben Baker seems to be in the lead… Rep. Jim Murphy thinks he wins with the big class of freshmen coming from STL area. Rep. Mike Henderson is working to get the core of Speaker Dean Plocher’s people. Working against Baker is how far away from the rest of state he is [to go out and meet folks.]”
· Special Session Watch: Governor Mike Parson addressed the caucus to let them know what he’s thinking in terms of his tax cut / ag tax credits special session. While reps were favorable to the idea of a tax cut, there’s concern about whether the Senate will be able to function amid its post-primary rifts.
· November Watch: “Lots of optimism that Republicans will pick up seats in November.”
· Future Speaker Watch: “Rep. Doug Richey had a dinner with incoming freshmen, the night before most state reps arrived to the caucus retreat in Branson. It was co-hosted by Rep. Cody Smith…”
Another Senate Seat in Play?
One reader says I shouldn’t necessarily narrow the Senate battlefield races down to only Senate 24. They think Senate 30 is also potentially in play. That’s where Sen. Lincoln Hough recently turned back a primary challenge.
· The Springfield district is only a +2% Republican seat.
· But also, according to the source: Take into account Trudy Valentine is said to be setting up a ground game and marijuana is on the ballot. Need to watch this one.
The Democratic candidate is Raymond Lampert (see bio here). He’s an attorney. He ran unsuccessfully for House (against Rep. John Black) losing both times. He took 25% of the vote in 2018 and 22% in 2020.
Stacy Service
The memorial service for Lisa Stacy, the late wife of Rep. Dan Stacy, will be Saturday August 20 at the Blue Springs Christian Church (7920 S MO-7 Hwy, Blue Springs, MO 64014). Visitation at 2PM, Service 3PM.
According to the flyer, “in lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to Bibleproject.com/give or toward our campaign at Citizens for Dan Stacy…”
Petersen Out at KWOS
One MOScouter write that “morning host radio Austin Petersen is out in Jefferson City. KWOS has been a must-stop for GOP pols...”
From the email announcement: Wake-Up Columbia recently changed the name to Wake-Up Mid-Missouri… Starting Monday, no matter where you are in Mid-Missouri, if you want the biggest news and insight on topics impacting Mid-Missourians, you'll be able to get it from both Eagle and KWOS, from the trusted team of Branden Rathert, Stephanie Bell, Producer Hannah, Brian Hauswirth, and John Marsh… The show has taken its strengths, and re-envisioned itself as a show for all communities, not just Columbia or Jefferson City… With this news, Austin Peterson is departing the company. We wish him the best on his future endeavors, and appreciate the last 3 years he has given to supporting KWOS.
· Petersen’s twitter touts a new show coming next month: Wake Up America Show.
Schupp’s Golfing Husband
Sen. Jill Schupp’s husband, Mark Schupp, gets some ink in the Post-Dispatch as he closes in on his goal to play “every one of the 386 golf courses in Missouri.” Read it here.
· Schupp, 66, of Creve Coeur, feels playing and reporting on every course is his way of giving something back to the state where he was born, graduated college and found success in business. He was a brand manager at Anheuser-Busch and later started his own advertising agency.
· Schupp soon realized if he was going to communicate his experiences to interested golfers, he would need a website, so he enrolled in a course on website coding and design at Meramec Community College. Never mind that it took him 10 hours to do what his younger classmates could accomplish in 10 minutes, because the result is a user-friendly directory found at MoGolfTour.com.
· State Sen. Brian Williams of St. Louis County is the typical avid user and fan of Schupp’s website. Playing golf consistently for three years, Williams uses it to preview courses he is interested in playing and to determine if they are a good fit for his level of play.
Lobbyists Registrations
Zach Pollock added Burton-Liese LLC, and MERATIVE L.P.
Don Stamper added Eledia Stone.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Rep. Rodger Reedy, and Jason Norton.
Condolences
To Franc Flotron, on the passing of his wife Anne Lewis, after a hard-fought battle with cancer.