MOScout Daily Update: Budget Behind Schedule - Filing Day - Schaefer Terminates Registration - Burger Endorsements - Kehoe Gets Farm Bureau and more…
Budget Timeline
The legislature’s Spring Break begins two weeks from Thursday. The way things look now, the House won’t be sending the Senate the budget ahead of that break.
Spring Break is the traditional half-way mark of the five-month legislative session. And that marker is usually when the budget is handed off from the lower chamber to the upper chamber. In recent years, the House has missed that informal deadline and it looks like it will again this year.
Why It Matters
Sen. Bill Eigel and the Freedom Caucus has signaled that they plan to make a rigorous review of the budget and attempt to reduce spending.
The crunched timeline plus the FC extending debate, or even a filibustering, raises the likelihood of a bottleneck near the end of session. And maybe even an outright trainwreck. Buckle up!
Driving the Day: Filing Opens
Today at 8AM candidates will be lined up at the secretary of state’s office to file for the August primary. Everyone who files today will receive a random lottery number. Ballot filing will be determined by that number (listing goes from lowest number to highest). After today, everyone else goes at the bottom.
What I’m watching…
· Former Sen. Kurt Schaefer terminated his lobbyist registration yesterday. That looks like preparation for a congressional run.
· Rep. Justin Hicks formed a committee to run for 3-CD as well, does he pull the trigger and file today?
· Rumors say that there’s been a recruit to run against Sen. Mike Moon in Senate 29. Does she show up this morning?
· Any surprise pivots or no-shows among the expected statewide candidates?
Kehoe Gets Farm Bureau
Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe pulled down the Farm Bureau endorsement. It’s considered one of the big three in Republican primaries (MRL went with Jay Ashcroft; the other is NRA).
From the announcement: “As a first-generation farmer, his appreciation of agriculture’s role in the state and his support of private property rights are of utmost importance to our state’s farmers and ranchers.”
Bailey-Scharf Get Nasty
Helluva story from Jack Suntrup recounting the increasingly angry primary between Attorney General Andrew Bailey and Will Scharf. Read it here.
· Bailey, on radio Friday, added Scharf had “never filed a lawsuit in his life” and that he is a “rich kid from New York who’s ridden on his parents’ wealth.”
· Said Bailey, “He needs to go back to New York, with his Harvard education.”
In addition to Scharf’s upbringing, it looks like Scharf’s family is also a target for Team Bailey…
· Bailey’s campaign pointed to a 2013 article in the Palm Beach Daily News that lists Scharf’s parents as attendees at a Planned Parenthood party.
All we really need now is the phone-call.
Burger Endorsements
Rep. Jamie Burger, lining up endorsements for his Senate 27 bid, has some big names in his corner. Among them: Peter Kinder, Jim Limbaugh, Dan Drury, and Wayne Wallingford.
· Team Burger says they’ve raised over $200,000 of their $300,000 goal for this quarter.
Securing the Border – With China
American Dream PAC, the pro-Mike Kehoe PAC, released a new ad yesterday. It focuses on the border. Not the border with Illinois or Kansas. But the border with China? See it here.
“Every state is a border state. President Biden has failed to secure the borders. China is definitely trying to take our farms and they are poisoning our children through sending fentanyl across the southern border. As governor, I will stop China from bringing fentanyl into our state and from buying up our farmland. I will fully support President Trump in securing our border. China is the enemy of our country and of the state of Missouri.”
Cupps v Malek: Round 2
State Treasurer Vivek Malek has promised to come to the Subcommittee on Appropriations - General Administration Committee this morning to answer questions from Chair Scott Cupps.
Cupps made waves last week, lambasting the treasurer for advertisements on so-called grey machines at convenience stores across the state.
· Team Malek says the whole episode stank of a set-up with Cupp’s last-minute invitation more about political theater than “getting to the truth.”
Lobbyist Registrations
Tom Dempsey and Dave Berry added Independent Electrical Contractors of Greater St. Louis; and deleted Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
Jorgen Schlemeier, David Jackson, Sarah Schlemeier, and Nikki Strong added Medify Air.
Irl Scissors added The Hertz Corporation.
Lindsey Swindle added The Christian Care Ministry.
Colin O’Brien added Clout Public Affairs LLC, Townes Telecommunications Inc, Motion Picture Association of America, and Community Health Systems.
Kurt Schaefer terminated his lobbyist registration.
$5K+ Contributions
Missourians for Constitutional Freedom (pro-reproductive rights IP) - $125,000 from Health Forward Foundation.
Damien Boley for Missouri - $10,000 from Eric Craig.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Hannah Beers Sutton, and Doug Crews.
Congratulations
Rep. Josh Hurlbert announced the birth of a son on Facebook: Allow me to introduce Michael Wesley Hurlbert, who made his appearance at 11:08pm Sunday night weighing in at 7 lbs, 6oz!
Michael means "Who is like God?" He is our surprise child. We had to go through an infertility clinic for his three siblings and thought we could never get pregnant naturally. We were done paying to have kids and were happy with our trio. But who is like our God? He had other plans for our family - one more blessing.