MOScout Weekender: New Statewide Poll GOP Primary - Hallway on Treasurer's Race - Who Won the Week and more...
Remington/MOScout Poll: GOP Statewide
Survey conducted July 5 through July 7, 2023. 706 likely 2024 Republican Primary voters participated in the survey. Survey weighted to match expected turnout demographics for the 2024 Republican Primary Election. Margin of Error is +/-3.4% with a 95% level of confidence. Totals do not always equal 100% due to rounding. Survey conducted by Remington Research Group on behalf of The Missouri Scout. See the full results here.
Q1: Possible candidates in the Republican Primary for Governor are Jay Ashcroft, Bill Eigel, and Mike Kehoe. If the election were held today, for whom would you vote?
Jay Ashcroft: 34%
Bill Eigel: 4%
Mike Kehoe: 14%
Undecided: 48%
Q2: Possible candidates in the Republican Primary for Lieutenant Governor are Dean Plocher and Holly Rehder. If the election were held today, for whom would you vote?
Dean Plocher: 14%
Holly Rehder: 18%
Undecided: 68%
Q3: Possible candidates in the Republican Primary for Secretary of State are Denny Hoskins, Caleb Rowden, and Shane Schoeller. If the election were held today, for whom would you vote?
Denny Hoskins: 15%
Caleb Rowden: 7%
Shane Schoeller: 12%
Undecided: 66%
Q4: Possible candidates in the Republican Primary for State Treasurer are Vivek Malek, Cody Smith and Andrew Koenig. If the election were held today, for whom would you vote?
Vivek Malek: 6%
Cody Smith: 13%
Andrew Koenig: 13%
Undecided: 68%
Q5: Possible candidates in the Republican Primary for Attorney General are Andrew Bailey and Will Scharf. If the election were held today, for whom would you vote?
Andrew Bailey: 25%
Will Scharf: 14%
Undecided: 61%
MOScout’s Hallway Index: On Treasurer’s Race
I asked lobbyists, “Who will win the Republican primary for state treasurer?” 20 replies…
RESULTS
1. Andrew Koenig… 10%
2. Vivek Malek… 35%
3. Cody Smith… 50%
4. Someone else… 5%
Sample of Comments
· Cody has the strongest team, best fundraising history and will work as hard or harder than the other candidates.
· It will be difficult...Vivek unfortunately has a name very similar to Shamed Dogan.....but Governor Parson will be campaigning hard for him and Bailey.
· Could have easily picked someone else also but don't know who it would be yet. This race is wide open but a slight lead at the moment to Vivek just because it seems like he has the clearest path...albeit a difficult one.
· Koenig. He campaigns harder than anybody…
· More people in the race, more money in his PAC, less problems for Malek.
· [ Smith] Down ballot race, the guy with the most common name gets a bump.
Who Won the Week?
Eric Schmitt – Schmitt must be dancing a little jig after scoring some wins this week from his AG days. The student loan debt forgiveness case featured Missouri’s MOHELA, and then the social media “censorship case” gained national attention for the injunction against the Biden Administration.
Vivek Malek – It looks like Malek will have $1 million in his PAC when quarter numbers are reported. Plus, the apparent entrance of Andrew Koenig means he may avoid a simple one-on-one primary.
Kelli Jones – Parson promoted his former Communications Director to be his new Deputy Chief of Staff.
Senate Dems – Three former conservative caucus members running statewide in 2024; trial attorney money flowing into Eigel’s PAC; lobbyists see no change in the Senate’s landscape. This all means Senate Dems will have a rift-ridden GOP caucus to use again next session.
Find a downloadable version here.
Troupe Passes
Post Dispatch reports on the death of former Rep. Quincy Troupe. Read it here.
Charles Quincy Troupe, an outspoken Democrat who was a state representative for 24 years and a St. Louis alderman for eight years before losing a reelection bid in 2013, died June 29. He was 87.
Troupe’s penchant for sharp rhetoric and disputes with other officeholders also drew news coverage throughout his career. “He was intent on getting his point across, which he did a lot,” [Lacy] Clay said.
Visitation will be from 5 to 9 p.m. July 13 at Austin A. Layne Mortuary, 7302 West Florissant Avenue, and 9 to 10 a.m. July 14 at Kennerly Temple Church of God in Christ, 4307 Kennerly Avenue. The funeral will be at 10 a.m. July 14 at Kennerly Temple.
eMailbag: Power’s Bigger Picture
Sorry to drag on O’Laughlin/PSC dialogue but the key power issue in Missouri isn’t “time of use” rates. The real future concern is premature shutdowns of baseload (mostly fossil fuel) generation in favor of intermittent renewable power. Storage capacity/etc. hasn’t evolved enough to reliably address the gap. Even representatives from system operators like the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) have been in the Capitol sharing concerns about future power reliability if plants are shutdown too quickly. Not sure what the ask would be for MO legislators??….as that should be a conversation between operators, generators, utilities and the PSC. And Missouri is on a timeline to be a net importer of power versus our long term standing of being a net exporter. That’s not good for MO consumers.
Gubby Appts
Governor Mike Parson announced five judicial appointments…
· The Honorable Steven Hudson, of Trenton, was appointed as Circuit Judge for the 3rd Judicial Circuit.
· Lauren D. Barrett, of Kansas City, was appointed as Associate Circuit Judge for the 16th Judicial Circuit.
· The Honorable Jeffrey Medler, of Ballwin, was appointed as Circuit Judge for the 21st Judicial Circuit.
· Natalie P. Warner, of St. Louis, was appointed as Associate Circuit Judge for the 21st Judicial Circuit.
· Rebecca A. Richardson, of Moscow Mills, was appointed as Associate Circuit Judge for Lincoln County in the 45th Judicial Circuit.
$5K+ Contributions
PG PAC - $15,000 from The Penman Group.
Missourians for Healthy Families & Fair Wages - $39,628 from Missouri Jobs with Justice Voter Action.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Richard Martin, Jeff Aboussie, Marsha Haefner, and Nick Robinson.
Sunday: Ron Fitzwater, Jeff Brooks, and Don Ruzicka.