MOScout Daily Update: Pro-Life Group Organizes - Ashcroft PAC Treads Water - MOMapper on CD-3 - How Riley Won the Floor Race and more...

First in MOScout: Pro-Lifers Organize to Fight IP

Missouri Stands With Women Inc was formed.  It’s a campaign committee to defeat whatever pro-choice initiative petition might make it to the ballot.

·       According to the paperwork, long-time pro-life activist Sam Lee is involved, and Eddie Greim is treasurer.  Stephanie Bell is a spokeswoman for the group.

·       From their website: “Missouri Stands with Women launched today to protect Missouri’s laws respecting the dignity of life, the safety of women and parental rights. The organization will be helping lead the fight against out-of-state funded initiative petitions, which are aimed at reversing Missouri’s pro-life laws and enshrining extreme abortion initiatives to the state’s constitution.”

What It Means

Despite pro-choice forces seemingly divided on their strategy for this cycle, and a lack of funds – so far – coming into their efforts to put a initiative petition before voters, pro-life activists are remaining vigilant and organizing early for a fight.

Ashcroft PAC Treads Water

Committee for Liberty, the political action committee supporting Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s gubernatorial campaign, spent nearly as much as it raised last quarter.  It raised $110,325 and spent $98,797, ending with $1.6 million in the bank. 

·       That’s less than a tenth of what I expect Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe’s PAC to have raised this quarter.

·       Most campaigns are banking money now to down the stretch of the campaign.  Ashcroft’s opponents will almost certainly show rising cash on-hand totals.

The PAC’s biggest expense ($51,307) was its fundraising consultant Graham Advisors LLC.

MOGOPers Cheer Trump Wins In Iowa

Former Sen. Bob Onder tweeted this picture from Iowa…

Missouri Mapper: Look Inside CD-3

On Twitter the Missouri Mapper breaks down CD-3.  See it here. 

·       About a third (31.6%) of the 2020 primary vote came from St. Charles County.

·       The Mid-MO Counties (Boone, Callaway, Camden, Cole, Cooper, Gasconade, Maries, Miller, Moniteau, Montgomery, and Osage) accounted for 51.3% of the vote.

·       Jefferson County was just 8.2% of the vote.

What It Means

·       Bob Onder would start with a good base of name ID coming out of St. Charles.

·       But all others things this district favors someone with Mid-MO name ID.  These numbers might entice Sen. Caleb Rowden to take a second look at the race.

·       Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, the only declared candidate, can take solace that despite JeffCo’s small portion of the district, the St. Louis media market accounts for 52% of the voters.  Her name ID in theory extends beyond Jefferson County.

How Riley Cleared the Floor Leader Field

Rep. Alex Riley isn’t the House’s most charismatic member. He isn’t the best orator, or the best-connected with major donors.  So how is it that’s he’ll walk unopposed into the Floor Leader’s office next year? 

·       Since quietly indicating his interest in the position late in his first term, Riley visited 3/4 of his Republican colleagues’ districts to attend fundraisers, knock doors, and break bread with them. That effort together with his thoughtful, policy-centric approach and conservative bona fides, helped him nab the prestigious General Laws chairmanship last year.

·       Riley then leveraged that position to great effect. Of the (very few) 2023 bills that were TAFP’d, at least 7 went through Gen Laws.  Over two dozen bills/ideas that came through Gen Laws ultimately made it to the Governor's desk in some form; there are few better ways to endear oneself to colleagues than to help shepherd their bills through the process.

·       And Riley did not ignore fundraising, always a component of House leadership races. He contributed over $100K directly to HRCC from his campaign committee, with another $30K donated to colleagues’ campaigns.

In the end, there was no hardball, heavy-handed posturing or brinkmanship needed to clear the field. His opponent, Rep. Jamie Burger, made no significant mistakes. But Riley relentless work ethics and diligence made it increasingly clear that he’d have the votes next year, leading Burger to explore other options.

May on Controversy at Lincoln

KRGC reports on the death of Lincoln University’s Vice President of Student Affairs, Dr. Antoinette Bonnie Candia-Bailey and allegations that her death was avoidable.  Read it here.

·       Sen. Karla May calls for an investigation: I have read with great alarm the allegations surrounding both the University Board of Curators and the University President’s actions and inactions prior to Dr. Candia-Bailey’s death.  I support placing the President on leave while an investigation is underway, but I remain concerned the University Board of Curators will be unable to objectively examine its own role in this situation. I believe an independent investigation of both the Office of the President and the University Board of Curators is needed to ensure students, faculty, and alumni that this matter is being fairly and fully examined…

Sports Betting IP Hits the Streets

Press release: A campaign led by Missouri’s six professional sports teams is starting to collect signatures this week to legalize sports betting and provide tens of millions annually in permanent, dedicated funding for education in Missouri. The initiative petition campaign, which seeks to place the issue on the November ballot, follows years of inaction by the Missouri Senate on the popular issue.

·       I’m told that the Winning for Missouri Education campaign committee has hired Fieldworks for their signature collection.

Money Watch

·       Big check for Beck – Doug PAC, the political action committee supporting Sen. Doug Beck, received a big union check (below) for $100,000.  So far, I haven’t heard any Republican names to challenge Beck.  Although his district is a lean Dem district, I expect Republicans to make a run at him. The longer it takes them to find a candidate and the more money he raises, the safer he is.

·       Realtors rattle saber – Missouri Association of Realtors anted $100K into Missourians for Fair Governance.  This is a campaign committee to fight any changes to the initiative petition process which are deemed onerous. It’s a shot across the bow of the legislature not to go too far or they’ll find a well-organized and well-funded opposition campaign resisting.

·       Minimum wage campaign best positioned – Resources keep getting shoveled into the campaign to raise Missouri minimum wage.  The latest filing shows another $100+K from Missouri Jobs with Justice into the wage campaign committee.

Committee News

·       Sparks Gets A Primary – Scott Ottenberg formed Ottenberg for Missouri to run for House 110 as a Republican.  Ottenberg is a city councilmember of Wildwood.  See his website here.  Incumbent Republican Rep. Justin Sparks, a member of the Freedom Caucus, was chosen for the 2022 general election ballot by Republican committeepeople after Bruce DeGroot won the primary election and then resigned to staff Sen. Curtis Trent.

·       Pro-Weber PAC – EMPAC was formed. See the paperwork here.  It’s a political action committee to support Democratic Rep. Emily Weber. Weber is Dem’s Caucus Vice-Chair; she’s running for Caucus Chair.

·       Sarah PAC No More - Sarah PAC which was in support of Rep. Sarah Unsicker was terminated.

Deep State Stonewalling Burly on UFOs?

KCStar reports that Congressman Eric Burlison is dissatisfied with his classified briefing on UFOs.

Under federal law, Burlison is not permitted to reveal classified information to the public. But after the classified briefing, he still appeared frustrated with how little the federal government is revealing about what it knows. “Regardless of what it is – aliens, angels, or just us, right?” Burlison said. “Regardless of what it is, I think that [former intelligence officer David] Grusch, what he said in the public hearing, that we are being blocked from information, that the information is being specifically compartmentalized, that’s violating federal law.”

$5K+ Contributions

DougPac - $100,000 from United Association Political Education Committee (Annapolis, MD).

Missourians for Fair Governance - $100,000 from Missouri Association of REALTORS.

Missourians for Healthy Families & Fair Wages - $110,357.42 from Missouri Jobs with Justice Voter Action.

MO Republican Party - $25,000 from Schmitt for Missouri.

International Brotherhood of Teamsters Missouri PAC - Federal Committee - $42,618 from IBT DRIVE (Washington, DC)

MO Values PAC - $6,000 from Crossland Construction (Columbus, KS).

Independence PAC (pro-McMullen) - $10,000 from Quality Schools Coalition.

Page PAC - $6,000 from Laborers Union Local 110 Voluntary Political Fund.

Lobbyist Registrations

Burton-Liese (Chris Liese, Jim Foley, Andy Foley, Tony Dugger, Larry Case and Craig Redmon) added National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors-Missouri.

Gamble & Schlemeier added Parking Company of America - Kansas City.

Sarah Wood Martin added St. Louis Economic Development Partnership.

Alex Tuttle added Golden Valley Memorial Healthcare, and Hannibal Regional Healthcare System.

Steven Tilley, Thomas Robbins, Brittany Hyatt Robbins, and Christopher Schoeman deleted Tier One Tactical Solutions, LLC.

Steven Tilley and Thomas Robbins deleted Gemini, Inc.  

Zach Pollock deleted Motion Picture Association of America.

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to Mary Still and Don Gosen.

Jane Gephardt Passes

Post-Dispatch notes passing of Jane Gephardt, wife of former Missouri congressman Dick Gephardt.  Read it here.

·       Gephardt, who was born June 2, 1942, and raised in Nebraska, became a Missouri mainstay after meeting her husband while attending Northwestern University in Chicago, as the couple returned to Dick’s native St. Louis after their wedding in August 1966.

·       Jane supported her husband throughout his political career, which began in 1971 with a seat on the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, then hit the national stage in 1976 when Dick was elected to represent Missouri’s 3rd District in the U.S. House of Representatives…

·       In her later years, Jane was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. She participated in a clinical trial seeking a cure for the disease, hoping to help others even through her own diagnosis.

·       An obituary released online by the family notes, “Jane was kind, generous, selfless, empathic, and always put herself second to the needs of others. She treated others with authenticity, love, and kindness and lived her life with grace and humor. She is the personification of the Golden Rule.”