MOScout Weekender: Koenig Joins Resignation Call - Hallway Doesn't See Plocher Resigning - MOians Worry About Mideast War - WWTW and more...
Koenig Joins Resignation Calls
Sen. Andrew Koenig joined the calls for Speaker Dean Plocher to resign. See it here.
The recent revelations about Speaker Dean Plocher are troubling, to say the least. He violated the same campaign finance rule on nine different occasions and misused taxpayer funds. He must resign immediately so that we can get back to the business of serving Missourians.
· The eastern part of Koenig’s Senate district overlaps with Plocher’s House district.
Remington/MOScout Poll: Senate 2
Survey conducted October 26 through October 27, 2023. 763 likely 2024 November Election voters participated in the survey. Survey weighted to match expected turnout demographics for the 2024 November Election. Margin of Error is +/-3.8% with a 95% level of confidence. Totals do not always equal 100% due to rounding. Survey conducted by Remington Research Group on behalf of Missouri Scout. Find the full results here.
Q1: How concerned are you about Joe Biden’s age impacting his ability to be president?
Very concerned: 53%
Somewhat concerned: 12%
Not concerned at all: 32%
Not sure: 4%
Q2: How concerned are you about Congressional Republicans’ ability to govern?
Very concerned: 47%
Somewhat concerned: 18%
Not concerned at all: 30%
Not sure: 5%
Q3: How concerned are you about the war in the Middle East and the involvement of more countries?
Very concerned: 65%
Somewhat concerned: 29%
Not concerned at all: 4%
Not sure: 2%
Q4: How concerned are you about the possibility of the US falling into a recession?
Very concerned: 42%
Somewhat concerned: 33%
Not concerned at all: 22%
Not sure: 3%
Q5: How concerned are you about the federal government’s national debt?
Very concerned: 54%
Somewhat concerned: 27%
Not concerned at all: 17%
Not sure: 2%
MOScout’s Hallway Index: On Plocher Situation
I asked lobbyists, “What will be the ultimate fall-out of Speaker Dean Plocher's situation?” 29 replies…
RESULTS
1. He will resign… 13.8%
2. He won't resign, but it will be fatal to his LG bid… 82.8%
3. No long term damage… 3.4%
Sample of Comments
· This scandal + Onder entry will doom Dean’s LG race.
· He will finish his term as Speaker, but he will be historically weak and ineffective as a last year Speaker. He was never going to win the LGs race but now he will be annihilated.
· Sincere contrition, ownership, and humility from pols in scandal is both incredibly powerful and incredibly rare.
· It will likely be dragged out longer than it should be, but ultimately they will eat their own.
· I would hope he would drop from the LG's race, the attack ads write themselves and that's a lot to put your family through. There are more important things in life than a statewide office with limited authority. He should focus on finishing his term and being an attorney.
· I keep hearing it gets worse.
· Knowing his Lt Gov bid is sunk, he won’t resign and give up his last session. And his consultants won’t let him resign his office or quit his race, despite it being bad for the Party and the State.
· Won’t resign on his own, but eventually caucus will figure out he hurts more than he helps and the pressure will build on Patterson to remove him (see Todd Richardson and Diehl).
· ...fatal to his LG bid and to his final year as Speaker
· He should resign, but I don’t think he will. It’s also fairly likely these aren’t the only unethical/illegal things he’s done. And now he has an angry staff talking to the ethics committee about all of it. If more shoes start to drop, he’ll have no choice.
· One thing you can count on in Jefferson City, if there is any indication you are drowning there will be a rush of people throwing out anchors.
· I'm sure there will be a pool on this one. I think the pressure mounts in a slow drumbeat as more articles are published and more pols decry his corruption.
· [If] Hannah Kelly's ethics report finds that he should resign, then it is a whole new ballgame.
Who Won the Week?
MO Dems – Watching Plocher punch back against Ashcroft and Sharf on Twitter… seeing Matt Gaetz fling inuendo at Jason Smith… These GOP-on-GOP violence might not help Dems at the ballot box, but it sure is bringing some laughter into their lives.
Jason Hancock – Arguably the best journalist in Missouri. Republicans whine that they’re “targeted.” If you have all the statewide offices, and 70% of the legislative seats, yeah you’re going to have more knuckleheads screwing up. It’s math, not targeting.
Bob Onder – If master politics is mostly about timing, Onder’s waiting until now to enter the LG race was damn fine politics.
Axiom Strategies – Not a bad week when your total unknown client from Louisiana becomes the new Speaker.
Find a downloadable version here.
Gubby Appts
Governor Mike Parson announced judicial appointments to the 34th and 39th Judicial Circuits.
· Brandon M. Sanchez, of New Madrid, was appointed as Associate Circuit Judge for New Madrid County in the 34th Judicial Circuit.
· Matt A. Selby, of Galena, was appointed as Associate Circuit Judge for Stone County in the 39th Judicial Circuit.
$5K+ Contributions
Murray for Missouri - $10,000 from Ben Murray.
MoCannTrade PAC - $12,000 from Green Precision Analytics.
MoCannTrade PAC - $8,333 from Columbia Care MO LLC (Chelmsford, MA).
MoCannTrade PAC - $8,334 from GFFG LLC.
MoCannTrade PAC - $8,333 from Organic Remedies MO Inc (Carlisle, PA).
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Katie Steele Danner.
Sunday: Rep. Mike Henderson, Cara Hoover, Ewell Lawson, Gail McCann Beatty, and Chip Casteel.