MOScout Daily Update: Bowlin Puts $100K in Senate 15 - Hawley Fundraises on Trump Indictment - DEI Debate - Rowden Refers House Bills and more...

Quick Friday update….

Bowlin Plunks Down $100K on Senate Race

In the hot Senate 15 Republican primary, Jim Bowlin, mayor of Wildwood, tossed in $100K of this own money.  Today is the last day of the fundraising quarter.

·       Bowlin faces former Rep. David Gregory and St. Louis County Councilman Mark Harder.

·       See Bowlin’s website here.

Trump Indictment

New York Times reports… Donald J. Trump is the first former president to be a criminal defendant. The Manhattan district attorney has charged him for his role in a hush-money payment to a porn star.

Perhaps when the indictment is unsealed, it will sway people’s perception, but a MOScout/Remington poll from last week, showed Missourians splitting by party lines on the indictment scenario.

From you have heard about the possible indictment of Donald Trump, which best describes your reaction?

Donald Trump is the target of a political attack: 47% (GOP 79%)

No one is above the law: 47% (Dems 92%)

Unsure: 5%

·       Independents are breaking against Trump, by the way, 62% saying no one is above the law.

What It Means: $$$

·       Josh Hawley immediately started fundraising off the news: BREAKING: President Trump was just officially INDICTED.  After YEARS of sham impeachment attempts, the radical Left is still refusing to give up on their liberally biased vendetta.  Stand with conservatives NOW >>>

·       An instinct he apparently shares with the former president, Politico reports: For most people, getting indicted is a setback. From Donald Trump’s team, it’s viewed as an opportunity.  Aides to the former president moved aggressively on Thursday to capitalize politically on news that a Manhattan grand jury had charged Trump — using it to fill their fundraising coffers, mobilize loyalists and further solidify his hold on his base of supporters in the GOP presidential primary.

Rowden Refers House Bills

Senate Pro Tem Caleb Rowden referred House bills yesterday, sending them to Senate committees, a critical step with six weeks left in session.

Among the 21bills referred were some high-profile issues…

·       HB 253 – open enrollment – to Education and Workforce Development.

·       HB 702 – St. Louis police takeover – to Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety.

·       HB 903 – foreign ownership of land – to Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety.

DEI Dominates Budget Debate

The Diversity Equity and Inclusion amendment dominated the House’s debate on the budget as they passed the bills yesterday.

·       African American representative decried the language as racist.

·       Rep. Doug Richey framed the amendment as a defense of Western Civilization.

·       Rep. Peter Merideth told Republicans if they want government to operate like a business, every Fortune 500 company uses DEI.

·       Here’s a snippet – about 5 minutes – just to give a sense of how the debate went.

And… expect the debate to continue in the Senate….

·       Sen. Lincoln Hough said the Senate would be stripping the DEI language.  That prompted former Conservative Caucus members to tweet that they’d fight on the Senate floor to put the language back in. 

Help Wanted

Greater St. Louis seeks Coordinator, Government Relations.  “The Coordinator, Government Relations will collaborate with teammates to support high-stakes policy objectives and increase engagement. The Coordinator will work on projects with varying degrees of complexity, materiality, and sensitivity. Agility, collaboration, and comfort with fluidity and ambiguity are key to success. This position may include communicating and collaborating with internal and external GSL stakeholders. The ability to communicate and present concepts, proposals, and analyses persuasively and concisely is essential. Each day will be different, challenging and rewarding.”  See the ad here.

Lohmar Exits

St. Charles County Prosecutor Tim Lohmar resigned yesterday.  He’s had a tail of controversy for a while with harassment allegations and a DWI charge.

$5K+ Contributions

Bowlin for Missouri - $100,000 from Jim Bowlin.

Citizens for Scharf - $9,469 from Will Scharf.

Landon McCarter For SPS School Board - $12,000 from Andrew Jared.

Alliance for Missouri Conservation - $25,000 from Southeast Holdings, LLC.

Defend Missouri (pro-Scharf) - $25,000 from Isaac Perlmutter (Lake Worth, FL).

American Dream PAC (pro-Kehoe) - $20,000 from KCFOP Political Action Committee.

Birthdays

Happy birthday to Mark Ellebracht and Allen Icet.