MOScout Daily Update: Haralson’s Common Sense - Onder Law for Eigel - Ray Wagner for Burger - Gragg’s Bro Speaks - FGA Wrote Ashcroft Op/Ed and more…

Common Sense With Haralson

Susan Haralson formed her campaign committee, Common Sense with Haralson.  She’s a Republican primarying Sen. Mike Moon in Senate 29.  

Sometimes folks brand their committees with their campaign themes, and I bet that’s what’s happening here.  Haralson will highlight some of Moon’s more extreme positions compared to her “common sense.”

·       Haralson owns Premier Home Health Care.

Onder Law for Eigel

This fundraiser for Sen. Bill Eigel ahead of the March quarterly fundraising deadline means we’ll probably see some substantial trial attorney checks coming into his PAC….

Wagner for Burger

In Senate 27, Rep. Jamie Burger is making an end-of-quarter push.  He’ll be in St. Louis on the 27th for an event hosted by Ray Wagner – meant to introduce him to St. Louis businesspeople and then back in the district the next day for an event at Kohlfield Distributing.

Money Watch

·       Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s fundraising has come alive.  See the slew of checks hitting (below in the large contributions)… over $185,000 worth.  He’s still trailing LG Mike Kehoe badly for this quarter but it’s the most activity we’ve seen from Ashcroft in quite a while.

·       Strategic Capitol Consulting antes $75,000 into a possible initiative petition fight to add an Ozark casino.  SCC has the Osage Nation as a client, and they have their own plans for a casino in that area. 

·       The sports betting IP, Winning for Missouri Education, gets another $500K infusion into its effort to gather enough signature before the looming May 5 deadline.

Allen’s Big Fight Ahead

Rep. Bill Allen on Facebook exclaims, “I Support Union Workers! I will fight like hell against Right to Work or any other legislation that works against organized labor. AND I support non-union workers. Blue collar. White collar. Small business owners and workers. Hard working families and retirees. Those who voted for me and those who did not. While I can’t make everyone happy all of the time, I do my best to fairly and evenly represent every human in House District 17 with as much respect, dignity, and bipartisanship as possible.”

Allen has a big fight ahead.  His district is certainly one of the Democrats top targets.  Allen upset Rep. Mark Ellebracht in 2022, eking out a 49-vote win in the Biden +5.2% district.

Dems like their candidate, Shirley Mata, a UAW Local 249 member. 

·       But Allen is trying to chart a “winnable middle path” that includes a relentless door knocking program as well as reminding folks he’s not one of those crazy Republicans.  For example, he’s the sponsor of the House bill to protect IVF procedures in Missouri.

Awkward Easter Ahead…

Rep. Jamie Gragg’s older brother takes him down in the KCStar.  Read it here.

·       Earlier this month, my brother, Missouri state Rep. Jamie Gragg, introduced House Bill 2885 aimed at criminalizing teachers by making them register as sex offenders for using a student’s correct pronouns…  

·       My brother is wrong. I believe you have the right to be whoever you want to be, think of yourself however you like, identify yourself as whoever you please. Whether I agree with it or not, accept it or reject it, encourage or discourage it, or recognize it or ignore it, I believe all of these things are your right, my right and everybody else’s right. You are entitled to your opinions and your beliefs, even if I don’t agree or share them.

·       I believe this with such conviction that I volunteered to defend those rights — mine, yours, and all the people in this country I’ve never met — as a member of the armed forces.

·       I’m a proud veteran and I’ll continue to defend against people who want to remove those rights, even if those individuals are members of my government — or my own family.

FGA Wrote Ashcroft Op/Ed

A news piece from CNN on the influence of Foundation for Government Accountability, a right-wing think tank, was getting passed around over the weekend.  Read it here. 

“Foundation for Government Accountability suggested regulatory language to [Jay] Ashcroft and even wrote an op-ed article that Ashcroft published in a national conservative magazine under his own name.”

·       See Foundation for Government Accountability’s website here.

·       Back in 2021, they produced a video about “the value of work” featuring Ashcroft, LG Mike Kehoe, and then-Rep. Derek Grier.  See it here.

Gubby Appts

Governor Mike Parson announced five judicial appointments….

·       The Honorable Matthew P. Hamner, of Osage Beach, was appointed to the Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District.

·       Alyssa M. Mayer, of Raymore, was appointed as Associate Circuit Judge for Cass County in the 17th Judicial Circuit.

·       Philip M. Fuhrman, of Springfield, was appointed as Associate Circuit Judge for the 31st Judicial Circuit.

·       The Honorable Robert Z. (Zac) Horack, of Benton, was appointed as Circuit Judge for the 33rd Judicial Circuit.

·       Melissa L. Stewart, of West Plains, was appointed as Associate Circuit Judge for Howell County in the 37th Judicial Circuit.

New Candidate Filings

·       Ray Hartmann (Democrat) filed in 2-CD.

·       Tony Harbison (Republican) filed in House 144. This is where Rep. Chris Dinkins is running for state senate.

·       Janis Beacham (Democrat) filed in House 156.  The current incumbent is Republican Rep. Brian Seitz.

eMailbag on Touting Laffer

The GOP may want to remember that Arthur Laffer helped design the Kansas tax cuts that decimated the state budget, making then-Gov. Sam Brownback the most unpopular governor in the country in a state as red as Missouri and costing Republicans the governorship.

$5K+ Contributions

Winning for Missouri Education (pro-sports betting IP) - $500,000 from Betfair Interactive US, LLC (Jersey City, NJ).

Missourians for Truth in Petitioning (anti-Ozark casino IP) - $75,000 from Strategic Capital Consultants, LLC.

Committee for Liberty (pro-Ashcroft) - $150,000 from Steven Craig (Newport Coast, CA).

Committee for Liberty - $10,000 from J&J Ventures Gaming LLC (Effingham, IL).

Committee for Liberty - $10,000 from Tony Danko LLC.

Committee for Liberty - $10,000 from Kevin Perz (Leawood, KS).

Committee for Liberty - $5,650 from Holloran Schwartz & Gaertner LLP.

American Dream PAC (pro-Kehoe) - $10,000 from Richard Arnoldy.

Scott Crise for Springfield Public Schools Board of Education - $20,000 from United Springfield.

Susan Provance for School Board - $20,000 from United Springfield.

Friends of Missouri State University PAC - $8,313 from Friends of Missouri State University PAC.

Lobbyist Registrations

Gamble & Schlemeier added Deckard Technologies.

Will Cousineau added Big River Gaming LLC; and deleted Michael Bond.

Julie Murphy added Cortex Innovation Community.

Jackie Wood deleted Missouri National Guard Association.

Candice Lozano deleted Gold Rush Gaming.

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to Rep. Tricia Byrnes, Francis Slay, and Jim Farrell.

Congratulations

To Carmen and Ryan Clearwater on the birth of their son, Rowan Lou Clearwater (8.8lbs, 19.5 inches)