MOScout Daily Update: Another $500K into LG's Race? - Koenig Backs China Disinvestment - Hennen in Senate 17? - Christ to Crane - Gunn to Evergy and more...

First in MOScout: New PAC to Help Onder?

Attorney James Onder, brother of former Sen. Bob Onder, added $500,000 to a new PAC, Great Missouri, early this morning.

Great Missouri is a brand-new political action committee, so it’s unconfirmed that it is to advance the candidacy of Bob Onder.  But it certainly looks that way.

The treasurer for the new PAC, John O’Brien, is that same as Onder’s old PAC, Missouri Senate Leadership PAC.

What It Means

Onder seeded his candidate committee with $500,000 just a month ago, and now his brother is helping a new PAC kick off with the same amount.  That puts his totals far above his primary rival Sen. Holly Thompson Rehder ($240K in candidate; $160K in PAC), and one par with Speaker Dean Plocher’s numbers ($520K in candidate; $760K in PAC) – though Plocher’s campaign is now hobbled by ethics allegations

·       The Hallway Index (sample survey of lobbyists) firmly picks Thompson Rehder to win the race.  But with his money and scorched earth rhetoric, I see Onder as the front-runner in this race. 

Koenig Backs China Disinvestment

Sen. Andrew Koenig, running for state treasurer, joined State Treasurer Vivek Malek in calling for disinvestment from China. 

See it here. It is no secret that Missourians do not want their hard earned tax dollars being used to benefit corporations beholden to the Chinese Communist Party #CCPChina. As MO State Treasurer, I will work with the #moleg to fully divest from #China.

What’s Next

One building denizen thinks we’ll see this issue next legislative session…

·       “It will be interesting to see if [Budget Chair and Treasurer candidate] Cody Smith does divestment language via the budget.”

·       “The legislature could absolutely craft something that would impact certain governmental entities but not general procurement.”

Scoop: Clay County GOP Recruiting Hennen

Tipster says that in the Senate 17 race, Clay County Republican donors are looking to move on from Vic Hurlbert and are actively recruiting Darren Hennen.

He’s a veteran, Vice President of Olsson Associates, and former Excelsior Springs city manager.   “While Darren is very active in the community, Democratic Rep. Maggie Nurrenbern would still be the favorite in this race.”  President Joe Biden won Senate 17 with 52% in 2020 (that is, if you’re the sort of person who believes election results).

·       Hennen and Nurrenbern serve together on the Feed Northland Kids board.

Christ to Crane

Rep. Brad Christ has landed a new job at the Crane Agency.

In his LinkedIn post, Christ alludes vaguely to issues in his last job caused by his election to office.

Here’s the backstory… The insurance agency (Marsh) recruited him during his campaign with full knowledge thereof – some of the firm’s senior executives contributed to his campaign. Just before his swearing-in, the firm’s headquarters reversed the hiring decision and issued an ultimatum: quit the legislature or quit the firm.

So, Christ quit Marsh and focused on session.  After fielding offers from various firms, he landed at Crane where he’ll consult large and small companies on commercial insurance and employee health and benefit needs, as well as helping individuals with their personal insurance portfolios.

Team Bailey: Scharf “Duke of Palm Beach”

Team Bailey jabbed primary rival Will Scharf over a planned fundraiser in Florida.  Post-Dispatch reports on it here.

I’ll admit, I was most surprised by Andrew Bailey’s spokesperson Mike Hafner using the country grammar “ain’t.” 

But Hafner does offer a clue of a line of attack we should expect to see aimed at Scharf this campaign… “Andrew Bailey ain’t no fortunate son,” Hafner said. “By the end of this campaign, Missourians are going to have a hard time relating to the Duke of Palm Beach.”

Gunn to Evergy

Press release: Evergy, Inc. announced today that Kevin Gunn will join its leadership team in January. Gunn will serve as Vice President of State and Federal Regulatory Policy with an emphasis on policies that support the company’s commitment to affordable and reliable service while continuing to invest in sustainable energy and infrastructure that keep Evergy and the communities it serves well-positioned to meet current and growing energy needs...

·       In his role at Evergy, Gunn will focus in particular on the company’s work with Missouri and federal regulators and stakeholders.

·       Gunn joins Evergy with 20 years of experience in policymaking, energy and regulation. He served on the Missouri Public Service Commission for five years, including as Chairman, and on the board of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC).

eMailbag on Franklin GOP

Franklin Co. GOP has been rogue for about as long as I can remember.  Continuing to make themselves more and more irrelevant.  I’ve worked on a lot of campaigns in my life, and I’ve never seen a GOP Central Committee make or break a candidacy.

Lobbyists Registrations

Jonathan Schmid added American Civil Liberties Union – Missouri.

Noah Reandeau added Rauschenberger Partners, LLC.

$5K+ Contributions

Great Missouri PAC - $500,000 from James Onder.

Old McDonald PAC (pro-Deaton) - $10,000 from Rex Sinquefield.

Freedom Is Bold PAC - $10,000 from Rex Sinquefield.

Nexus PAC - $10,000 from Nexus Group.

Missouri REALTORS Inc - $18,500 from T David Rogers.

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to Sen. Mike Bernskoetter, and Joe Don McGaugh.