MOScout Daily Update: GOP Statewide Candidates on Trump Indictment - Barrett Fined - July Rev Fall and more...
Latest Trump Indictment
Former President Donald Trump was indicted for his efforts to overturn the election he lost and remain in office. Read the indictment here.
It presents a choice for ambitious Republicans. They know Trump lost the election and that his promulgation of lies is dangerous for the country. And yet, Trump is popular with the Republican base.
The recent New York Times poll showed that staunch pro-Trump voters make up the largest bloc of Republican voters. It’s about 37% compared to the staunch anti-Trump Republicans at 25%.
On Twitter, Missouri’s two attorney general candidates found ways to question the indictment.
Andrew Bailey: Trump has been indicted yet again by Biden’s DOJ. The same DOJ who attempted to intimidate a witness for exposing the Biden Crime Family yesterday. The same DOJ who targeted pro-life Catholics for being “religious extremists.” The same DOJ who coerced and colluded with Big Tech to silence the Hunter Biden laptop story. This has never been about truth; this has always been about power.
Will Scharf: I think there are serious legal infirmities in all four counts. And, of course, the timing seems highly suspect for a bunch of reasons.
In the secretary of state’s race…
Shane Schoeller was mum, while Sen. Denny Hoskins retweeted various national Republicans saying that Trump had done nothing wrong.
No reaction from Republican gubernatorial candidates, state treasurer candidates, and lieutenant governor candidates.
Barrett Fined
Remember the hot Senate 3 Republican primary back in 2020? Elaine Gannon emerged from the 3-way primary with 42%, nudging out Josh Barrett who had the backing of members of the Conservative Caucus. Barrett won 36% of the vote, and Kent Scism ran third with 21%.
Well, it turns out that Barrett’s campaign finance was a complete mess.
The Missouri Ethic Commission issued an order, fining him $127,304.
· Some of Barrett’s misdeeds are book-keeping related like not reporting over $17,000 in contributions.
· But there’s also evidence of the criminal act of converting campaign funds to personal use. He spent $6,241 on personal items including a payment to Ameren, and several cash withdrawals.
Unsicker Calls for Dem Staffer Resignation
Rep. Sarah Unsicker, running for attorney general, reacted to a now-deleted tweet from the Missouri Democratic Party implying violence, by calling for the staffer to resign.
See her stand here. Any organization that would post something like this needs a new social media director. Whoever posted this from the @modemparty and left it up long enough for a screenshot should be fired. This does not represent Missouri Democratic values.
July Revenues Fall
July state revenues ended the month down about 7.4% compared to last July. It’s the first month of the fiscal year, so it’s too early to hit the panic button, but there could be trouble ahead in budget-land if this trend continues.
· Most concerning: individual income tax receipts down 19%. This is the largest component of state revenue.
Price Joins Workforce Development Board
Governor Mike Parson appointed Megan Price to the Missouri Workforce Development Board. Ms. Price serves as the executive director of the Missouri Works Initiative. Prior to joining the Missouri Works Initiative, she served as chief of staff to Missouri State Senator Jill Schupp for five years.
Other gubernatorial appointments…
· Dr. Ian Fawks, of Springfield, was appointed to the State Board of Registration for the Healing Arts.
· Bill Grimwood, of St. Joseph, was appointed to the Missouri Western State University Board of Governors.
· William Ekey, of Odessa, was appointed to the Health and Educational Facilities Authority of the State of Missouri.
· Leah Morton, of Stockton, was appointed as the Cedar County Assessor.
Lobbyist Registrations
Salvatore Panettiere deleted Morningstar Youth & Family Life Center Development, and Vantrust Real Estate LLC.
$5K+ Contributions
American Dream PAC (pro-Kehoe) - $50,000 from IAFF FIREPAC VIC Missouri (Washington DC).
Believe in Life and Liberty - BILL PAC (pro-Eigel) - $25,000 from Onder Law.
Believe in Life and Liberty - BILL PAC - $5,001 from James Avery.
Missouri Realtors PAC Inc - $10,000 from St. Louis Associations of REALTORS.
Missouri Realtors PAC Inc - $5,541 from Mid America Regional Information Systems.
Majority Forward - $10,000 from Pipe Fitters Local 533 Volunteer Political Fund.
Missouri Democratic State Committee - $25,436 from Eric Schmidt (Palo Alto, CA).
Breakthru Beverage Missouri, LLC - $25,000 from Andrew Crisses (Kings Point, NY).
Living Well PAC - $15,000 from Walgreens (Deerfield, IL).
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Mike Talboy, Dawn Nicklas, Zac Sweets, Kim Gardner, Tom Todd, and Jim Viebrock.