MOScout Daily Update: Wasinger Gets MRL Nod - MOScout’s Jeff City Hunger Games Bracket Begins and more…
Quick update before I take off for Spring Break…
Wasinger Gets MRL Endorsement
Republican David Wasinger nabbed the coveted Missouri Right to Life endorsement. From the endorsement: He was born in Hannibal and raised by hard‐working parents, who instilled small town conservative values of Christian faith in God, honor for our veterans, protecting the unborn, love of family, and the value of hard work. Dave is happily married to Colleen, and together they are the proud parents of two sons. He is committed to protect and better the lives of Missourians–‐born and unborn.
· Wasinger statement: Now more than ever we need pro life warriors who are unafraid to defend our values and call out the insiders and the swamp, and I’m ready to do that as our next Lieutenant Governor.
Meanwhile Other Pro-Lifers Get No MRL Love
Because Missouri Right to Life has had added additional hoops for legislators to jump through (votes on Senate procedure, congressional maps, initiative petitions, FRA), it’s not easy for an incumbent legislator to get the MRL nod. Voting 100% pro-life just isn’t enough, as Sens. Lincoln Hough and Holly Rehder can attest.
· One Capitol source weighs in: I wouldn't recommend any "singular and exclusive" endorsements right now [before filing closes] but you'd think if they were to give one out, it would be to Andrew Koenig for State Treasurer, who handled HB 126 in 2019 – the "Heartbeat Bill" and also called "Missouri Stands for the Unborn Act" – and which also contained the "trigger" law that banned abortion in Missouri…
Ashcroft Hits Back
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s campaign hit back against the latest ad from the pro-Kehoe PAC on the issue of foreign ownership of land. See the Ashcroft rebuttal here.
I imagine we’ll be seeing this picture of Mike Kehoe more as the campaign unfolds…
MOScout’s March Madness: Jeff City Hunger Games
As I take off for Spring Break, here’s a little fun March Madness for you all. Vote on the bracket, pick the Jefferson City denizen that would survive in a Hunger Games style contest. Click on the participants to see their special skill / preferred weapon.
Vote here. I’ll have the results of the first round on Monday.
Pro-Choice IP Could Overwhelm Campaigns Messaging
Kaiser Health News reports on abortion battlegrounds across the country. Missouri gets a look. Read it here.
· Abortion Action Missouri Executive Director Mallory Schwarz said the coalition backing the state’s abortion measure is confident it will hit the signature goal by the May deadline.
· If that happens, it will be up to outgoing Republican Gov. Mike Parson, who supports Missouri’s near-total abortion ban, to decide whether to put the measure before voters in the state’s August primary or the November general election.
· [Gregg] Keller, the GOP strategist, said the governor will face tremendous pressure to put it on the August ballot. Five of six statewide offices are on the November ballot, as is Republican Josh Hawley’s U.S. Senate seat. An abortion ballot measure could overshadow those campaigns — just based on the war chests in play: Hawley’s 2018 campaign spent about $11.5 million, for example, while the three political action committees backing Ohio’s abortion amendment last year spent over $50 million.
· “I am telling anyone who is running as a Republican this year that if you want to be able to make your case about how and why you deserve to be elected, and you want to be able to get your story out,” Keller said, “then clearly you would not want to have a $50 million ballot initiative on in November.”
How Many Members Does It Take Gavel In And Out?
The House had a technical session Monday. According to the Journal, here’s who showed up and collected their $140 per diem…
The following members' presence was noted: Barnes, Brown (16), Brown (27), Collins, Davidson, Davis, Ealy, Falkner, Haley, Kelley (127), Lavender, Lonsdale, Lovasco, Matthiesen, Plank, Pollitt, Proudie, Reuter, Riggs, Sander, Schulte, Schwadron, Sharpe (4), Terry, Thomas, Toalson Reisch, Wilson, and Windham.
New Candidate Filings
· Josh Hawley filed for re-election for U.S. Senate.
· Beth Grubb (Democrat) filed to run in House 53. She’ll face Republican Rep. Terry Thompson.
· Jack Howard (Republican) filed in House 74. He’ll face Democratic Rep. Kevin Windham.
· Daniel Hyatt (Republican) filed in House 87 (Paula Brown district) creating a Republican primary.
· Eleanor Maynard (Democrat) filed to run in House 109. This is a Franklin County seat where Republican Rep. Kyle Marquart faces a primary from former Rep. John Simmons.
· Brandon Swartz (Democrat) filed in House 121. He’ll face Republican Rep. Bill Hardwick.
· Mark Gray (Democrat) filed to run for House 139. He’ll face Republican Rep. Bob Titus.
· Dustin Holmes (Republican) filed in House 142, a primary challenge to Rep. Jeff Knight.
· Carolyn Boss (Republican) filed to run in House 156, a primary challenge to Rep. Brian Seitz.
$5K+ Contributions
Winning for Missouri Education (pro-sports betting IP) - $500,000 from DK Crown Holdings, Inc (Boston, MA).
American Dream PAC (pro-Kehoe) - $30,000 from AGC of MO PAC.
American Dream PAC - $10,000 from Morlan Chrysler LLC.
Believe in Life and Liberty - BILL PAC (pro-Eigel) - $15,000 from Onder Law.
Forward Jackson County - $25,000 from Kansas City Royals Baseball Club.
Democratic Coalition Kansas City - $25,000 from Kansas City Royals Baseball Club.
Chad Rollins for Springfield Public School Board - $20,000 from Curtis Jared.
Andrew County Republican Central Committee - $9,981 from Hegeman for Missouri.
Birthdays
Happy birthday to Vivek Malek.
Thursday: Tom Hoppe, Trent Summers, Chastity Danner, and Thomas Long.
Friday: Rep. Bill Hardwick, Nancy Giddens, David Jackson, Steve Hunter, Will Kraus, Paul LeVota, and Sylvester Brown Jr.
Saturday: Jacqueline Bardgett.
Sunday: Chris Liese, Mike Gibbons, Kelly Schultz, Tony Wyche, and Matt Bain.
MOScout Schedule
I’m taking off for the rest of the Legislature’s Spring Break. Be back Monday.