MOScout Daily Update: Sparks Declares Challenge - New Legislators Guide - Graves for Transportation? - Trump Power Players and more…
Breaking… Sparks Says He’ll Challenge Patterson
Last night Rep. Justin Sparks took to Facebook Live to announce a late challenge to Speaker-designate Rep. Jon Patterson. The Speaker-designate vote took place a year ago.
Sparks cited Patterson’s statement from a week before Election Day suggesting that the Legislature should respect the voters’ will on Amendment 3, and argued that Patterson is insufficiently conservative to lead the caucus. Sparks also blamed “the system,” including HRCC’s fundraising strategy.
One lobbyist reports that “an informal survey of caucus members following Sparks’ announcement indicated no groundswell; some of the most conservative caucus members said that they remained solidly behind Patterson while others said they had yet to hear from Sparks.”
· “They probably ginned up the grassroots in Camden County and St. Charles, but as far as people who can actually vote for Speaker, this is getting zero traction with anyone not named Mazzie.”
Another lobbyist predicted, “Sparks’ vanity project is going to blow up in his face and the shrapnel will hit those standing near him.”
What It Means
· I think this might actually reduce the chances that an Amendment 3 backlash blows up session. After Patterson vanquishes Sparks, he will have a mandate on the “respect the voters” position.
· But, the larger point here is that the Freedom Caucus intends to follow its playbook from previous cycles. This looks very much like the start of compiling a new “scorecard,” getting folks on the record as to whether they’re conservative enough. Reps looking at senate primaries in 2026 may worry that their vote for Patterson will be listed as “voted for RINO speaker.”
New Legislators Guides
I’ve put together a quick “guide” of the new legislators. It’s got the basic skeletal biographical information and pictures. Find the Senate Guide here. Find the House Guide Here.
Graves for Transportation Secretary?
Missourinet reports that Congressman Sam Graves “had talks with the Trump transition team about the possibility of serving as Transportation Secretary in the second Trump administration.”
“I have been talking to Trump’s transition team,” he said. “You know, they have informed that they’ve got me on a short list for that. So, I’m obviously taking a very hard look at it and, you know, see what happens. But it is certainly something that is very intriguing to me… It’s just preliminary at this point,” he said. “They’re just feeling me out on, you know, on policy and what I would do and the things that I would like to see changed. So, you know, it’s just preliminary point, to be quite honest with you.”
What It Means
· A congressional vacancy would be filled by special election and would certainly draw a lot of interest. I would think at the top of the list would be Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer.
· And (I know we’re getting pretty deep into the World of What Ifs)… Assuming this all went down during session, we could see Assistant Floor Leader Curtis Trent take over for Luetky.
2026 Watch Update
A few updates to my 2026 Senate races spreadsheet.
· I’ve added Shante Duncan as a possible candidate in Senate 14 (Williams termed). Read about Duncan here.
· I’m removing Rep. Ed Lewis from Senate 18 (O’Laughlin termed). Lewis has said he’ll be running for his 4th and final House term in 2026. That currently leaves a two-person primary there between Reps. Louis Riggs and Greg Sharpe.
MO Trump Power Players
Punchbowl’s run-down of potential power players in the Trump’s Washington features two Missourians, Senator Eric Schmitt, and Johnny DeStefano, brother in-law to Centene’s Shawn Furey. See it here.
· Johnny DeStefano: DeStefano was a key player in Trump’s first White House, helping run personnel for the 45th president. Now, he’s the top outside adviser to Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), a leading candidate to be the next Senate majority leader.
· Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.): Schmitt has been mentioned by some as a candidate to be attorney general. He helped lead Trump’s debate prep over the summer and was a frequent presence on the campaign trail. He’s come a long way from the “Eric” endorsement.
US Attorney Talk
One MOScouter who follows the US Attorney appointment game tells me that he sees Bill Corrigan being well-positioned. “Front runner this time, has support of Attorney General Andrew Bailey who he worked for.”
We’ll see…
Lobbyist Registrations
Irl Scissors deleted The Hertz Corporation.
$5K+ Contributions
Winning for Missouri Education - $333,333 from Kansas City Chiefs Football Club.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Harrison Sweazea, Dwight Scharnhorst, Tom Shively, and Terry Young.
MOScout Schedule
I’ll be taking my post-election vacation (extra long weekend really) this week. Look for regular morning updates Tuesday and Wednesday, and then I’ll be off Thursday-Sunday.