MOScout Daily Update: Scharf's Big December - Kehoe PAC vs Ashcroft PAC - VLT Memo - SOTS Talk - Dogan to Missouri Agrees and more...

First in MOScout: Scharf Breaks AG Fundraising Record

Will Scharf, running against Andrew Bailey for the Republican attorney general nomination, will report raising over $290,000 in his candidate committee during the month of December.

Team Scharf says this breaks the record for fundraising by an AG candidate – since campaign contribution limited were reimposed.  (Eric Schmitt’s candidate commitee raised $283,000 in Q3 2020.)

In addition to that number, Scharf also anted in $500K of his own money. 

What It Means

It’s a hot start for Scharf.  But once a pro-Scharf PAC gets set up, I bet we’ll see much larger totals coming from that committee.

Meanwhile

·       Liberty and Justice PAC, which hosted a fundraiser for AG Andrew Bailey, raised $72,450, getting a nice boost from PACs related to lobbyist Steven Tilley.

·       Bailey doesn’t yet have a candidate committee filed with MEC.

Kehoe PAC Leads Ashcroft PAC by $1M

Political action committees supporting Mike Kehoe and Jay Ashcroft reported their fourth quarter numbers over the weekend.  Kehoe’s PAC had a blistering quarter, and now has $1 million dollars more cash on-hand than Ashcroft’s PAC – which did no fundraising during the past three months.

·       American Dream PAC raised $1,189,950; spent $45,258; and has $2,343,621 on-hand.

·       Committee for Liberty raised $0; spent $8,105; and has $1,298,476 on-hand.                                                       

Also

Governor Mike Parson, despite being term limited, still raised a strong $114K, bringing the cash on-hand of his candidate committee to $267,000. 

·       His filing says he’s running for a 2024 statewide primary.  But show me one person (including Governor Parson) who thinks he will be on the ballot in 2024.  We’ll see how this money is ultimately spent or disposed of.

Driving the Day: Malek Swearing In

Vivek Malek will be sworn in as state treasurer today (1PM in House Chambers). 

It’s historic.  Malek will be Missouri’s first Indian American statewide officeholder ever.

·       And he’ll have some prominent Republicans standing up with him… former Lt. Governor Peter Kinder will be the Master of Ceremonies and the Honorable Stephen Limbaugh Jr., Senior Judge for the Federal Eastern District of Missouri will administer the oath.

SOTS Talk

The week’s main event is Governor Mike Parson’s State of the State speech and his accompanying budget proposal.

Parson spokeswoman Kelli Jones tells the News Tribune that the speech will be “very heavy on the workforce development and education and infrastructure.”

Here’s some of the talk about possible proposals…

Workforce Development

·       Parson already announced he’ll seek “an 8.7 percent Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for all state team members and a $2 per hour shift differential to eligible state team members working in certain congregate care facilities.”  Dems say

·       Aligned’s capitol report says that “Advocates expect a strong focus on investments in child care.”  Child care has been established as a workforce issue because many folks aren’t in the labor market because they can’t find affordable care for their children.  Perhaps we’ll see a child care subsidy increase, an incentive for business to start their own child care.

Education

·       Some folks expect to see new money headed to higher education.  Higher Ed is often the cut to get hit during budget shortfalls, so it makes some sense to re-invest there when there’s extra cash in the coffers.

·       Additionally, new investments in early childhood education could be on the table.

Infrastructure

·       Parson may propose some general revenue dollars to upgrade I-70, the main corridor for commerce across the state. 

The Context

With a state cash balance sitting in the billions, some Republicans are antsy for a tax cut.  I don’t hear any talk of that coming from the SOTS. 

Making the Rounds: VLT Polling Memo

A polling memo warning Republicans that those “who chooses to support VLT expansion [are] placing their own political career in peril” is making the rounds in Jeff City.  See the memo here.

It’s based on a poll conducted earlier this month of 500 likely Republican primary voters.

Key Findings

1. Republican primary voters oppose allowing video lottery terminal slot machines in any gas

station, convenience store, bar, or tavern in Missouri. Just 32% of Republican primary voters favor allowing video lottery terminals (VLTs) in gas stations, convenience stores, bars, and taverns, compared to 58% who oppose…

2. Opposition to VLT expansion is even stronger among key Republican primary subgroups.

The voters who decide Republican primaries tend to be very conservative voters and seniors

(voters age 65+). These key groups are especially opposed to VLT expansion, with very

conservative voters sitting at 23% favor/69% oppose, and seniors at a very similar 21%

favor/70% oppose…

Meanwhile

J & J Ventures, which wants to expand its VLTs into Missouri, has been giving “strategically”…

·       December 28 - $10,000 to Truth in Campaigns (Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo’s PAC).

·       January 4 - $10,000 to Missouri United (House Speaker Dean Plocher’s PAC).

·       January 10 - $10,000 to NEMO Leadership PAC (Senate Floor Leader Cindy O’Laughlin’s PAC).

·       January 12 - $10,000 from Crystal PAC (House Minority Leader Crystal Quade’s PAC).

The Context

In past sessions, the VLT issue have been entangled with the sports betting issue.  The two issues are both in Sen. Denny Hoskins’ SB 1. 

·       But VLTs are not in Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer’s SB 30.  Nor is it in Rep. Dan Houx’s HB 556 or Rep. Phil Christofanelli’s HB 581.

Dogan to Missouri Agrees

Post-Dispatch reports that former Rep. Shamed Dogan has signed up with Missouri Agrees to be an organizer for “a ballot question for 2024 to usher in ‘approval voting’ in Missouri.”

See the initiative petition proposal here.  A campaign committee for Missouri Agrees was formed at the end of last year (see that filing here).

Dogan explained the subtle differences between “approval voting” and “ranked choice voting,” which is being pursued by Better Elections.  This distinction may be lost on most voters.

What It Means

·       First – despite grumbling you might hear, it’s not easy to get an IP to the ballot.  Better Elections spent over $4 million dollars and was unsuccessful in collecting enough signatures. 

·       So – it’s premature to envision a 2024 ballot with both Better Election and Missouri Agrees on the ballot before voters.

·       But – if that scenario did come to pass, I’d expect the confusion to sink both proposals.

eMailbag on Dress Code

Clothes debate: Critiquing women for their appearance and expressing faux shock for skirts above the knee when other women are emulated for similar choices is a calculated smear to put women in their place as it is belittling and minimizing…. 

Lobbyists Registrations

Jorgen Schlemeier and Jeff Brooks added Operation Sand, LLC.  

Alexis Nester added PDE Action.            

Eapen Thampy added Shaman Botanicals.

Rachel Hurley added Bayer US.

Catalyst added KC Recycle & Waste Solutions.

Liz Henderson added Brent Hemphill & Associates.

Virginia “Ginna” Rivera added BJC Healthcare Systems.              

Trent Watson added Special School District of St. Louis County, Missouri Railroad Association, Missouri State Alliance of YMCAs, and Gateway Coalition of Service Providers. 

Kurt Schaefer deleted Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives.

$5K+ Contributions

House Republican Campaign Committee, Inc - $10,000 from Missouri American Water Employees PAC.

Crystal PAC (pro-Quade) - $10,000 from J & J Ventures Gaming of Missouri.

House Democratic Campaign Committee - $10,000 from AT&T.

Birthdays

Happy birthday to Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe.