MOScout Daily Update: Frisella for Bailey? - Christ To Hit $100K? - Bush on Israel - WSJ on Noel and more...
Frisella for Bailey?
Last week mega-influencer Andy Frisella (3M Instagram followers) hosted Attorney General Andrew Bailey on his popular REAL AF podcast to discuss his work as AG including big tech censorship, transgender ideology, and Trump. Watch the podcast here.
· Frisella became well-known in GOP circles last cycle when he gave a $1 million contribution to Eric Greitens in the senate primary.
Christ Whisper Number
Tipster says that Rep. Brad Christ is expected to come in at $100,000 raised for the 3rd quarter between his campaign and Real Action, a PAC supporting his re-election.
· That’s a strong showing for a freshman.
· Christ faces re-election in a swing suburban district; this quarter shows that Christ won’t be caught flat-footed.
· And if he decides to run for a leadership position, the cash will help him show his support for the caucus.
Bush: Defund Israel
Post-Dispatch reports on the outrage from Jewish leaders as Congresswoman Cori Bush uses the Hamas attacks as a jumping off point to call for to end “U.S. government support for Israel military occupation and apartheid.”
· State Treasurer Vivek Malek was among the Republicans taking issue with Bush’s statement: For Rep. @CoriBush to blame #Israel for a barbaric sneak attack on Israel is shameful.
· Bush’s district contains a significant Jewish population, but after she easily turned aside Sen. Steven Roberts’ primary challenge last years (70% - 27%), she seems unassailable.
WSJ on Noel
Wall Street Journal reports on the ripple effect meatpacking plant closings are having on small towns across America. Noel Missouri is featured. Read it here.
· After Tyson Foods said it would close its Noel, Mo., chicken processing plant this fall, 20-year-old Angel Saldivar started rethinking his future in the 2,200-person town. “We’re probably not going to be here too much longer,” he said. Saldivar wasn’t among the 1,500 Tyson workers affected by the plant’s shutdown. He and his family run a restaurant across the street, Tony’s Burritos, which his grandmother opened in the 1990s as a lunch spot for plant employees.
· With the plant scheduled to close by mid-October, Saldivar says Tony’s probably will, too. Some workers have already quit or left town for other jobs, he said, and Tony’s sales have fallen 40% to 50% from August.
· McDonald County, where Noel is located, stands to lose 22% of its gross domestic product and nearly one-third of its $8 million in sales-tax revenue from the plant closure, according to estimates from the economic research firm Decision Innovation Solutions. The firm estimates the county will lose about 2,000 jobs, including roles beyond plant workers.
Hanaway Reviewing Chess Club
St. Louis Business Journal reports that “The Saint Louis Chess Club has hired a prominent local attorney to lead a legal team that will review the nonprofit organization's practices and procedures after allegations of sexual assault against a former employee. The Chess Club’s board of directors this week said in a letter addressed to its members and supporters that the new team would be headed by former U.S. attorney and Missouri House Speaker Catherine Hanaway. Hanaway currently is chair of Husch Blackwell LLP.”
· Readers will remember that Rex Sinquefield contributed $750,000 to Hanaway’s 2016 gubernatorial campaign.
· One MOScouter: To be clear: Catherine Hanaway is a good lawyer and she can surely recommend improvements in policies. But it's important to know the context of her long-time friendship with Rex Sinquefield, too.
Huckins to MO
New York Times reports on about Americans choosing their hometown based on ideology, and features a family which moved from “blue state” Oregon to “red state” Missouri. Read it here.
· Mr. Huckins and his wife, Ginger, were leaving Portland, Ore., one of the most progressive cities in the United States. They said Portland’s tolerance of homeless encampments, along with the open use of hard drugs and rising crime, had filled them with despair. So they headed 2,000 miles east, to deep-red rural Missouri…
· “One thing I do like about Missouri, there’s lots of American flags,” Mr. Huckins said as he steered around a traffic circle where the Stars and Stripes flapped crisply on a pole. “In Portland, the American flag was offensive.”
New Committees
Gibson Grassroots Committee was formed. It’s a candidate committee for Andy Gibson, a Democrat, running in House 10 where Republican Rep. Bill Falkner is the incumbent.
· Gibson ran for Buchanan County Presiding Commissioner last year, losing to the Republican 68% to 31%.
· House 10 was +11 Trump in 2020.
Irwin for Missouri was formed. It’s a candidate committee for Bill Irwin who’s running in House 55, where Rep. Mike Haffner is vacating the seat to run for state senate.
· Irwin is a retired Navy SEAL. See his website here.
· In the large contributions (below), Irwin has seeded his campaign with $30K.
· House 55 was +40 Trump in 2020.
Lobbyists Registrations
James Harris added State Armor Action.
$5K+ Contributions
Liberty and Justice PAC (pro-Bailey) - $10,000 from GJ Grewe Inc.
Missouri Alliance PAC (pro- Patterson) - $10,000 from MO Corn Growers Association.
Southern Drawl PAC (pro-Rehder) - $25,000 from Rex Sinquefield.
Majority Forward - $7,500 from Enterprise Holdings PAC.
Irwin for Missouri - $30,000 from William Irwin.
Missouri Leadership Forum - $15,000 from Mark Stephens.
Missouri Leadership Forum - $15,000 from Warrenton Oil Company.
Missouri Leadership Forum - $15,000 from Craftsmen Management.
Missourians for Healthy Families & Fair Wages - $28,316 from Missouri Jobs with Justice Voter Action.
United Steelworkers District 11 Missouri Non-Federal Account - $25,000 from United Steelworkers (Pittsburgh, PA).
MoCannTrade PAC - $15,000 from MedFarms Inc (Romeo, MI).
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Sen. Denny Hoskins, Roger Wilson, Bruce Holt, Terry Jarrett, and Jack Coatar.