MOScout Daily Update: Lewis Kicks Off - Coyne in Senate 19 - Nicola Fundy - More House Primaries - Welcome Little John and more…

Lewis Kicks Off

Rep. Patty Lewis kicked off her Senate 7 campaign last night to replace Greg Razer.  It’s clear that Pat Contreras has a fight on his hands.

One MOScouter: “A packed house in KC last night, with special guest speakers Sen. Tracy McCreery and Rep. Emily Weber. Women in this state are tired of men making backroom deals to lock them out of office— as evidenced by the strong turnout and over $23,000 haul at Lewis’ kickoff.”

·       Lewis has been gathering up endorsements from organized labor: Greater Kansas City AFL-CIO, Kansas City Federation of Teachers, IBT, Pipefitters Local 533, Abortion Action MO, IUOE 101, and IBEW 124.

Coyne in Senate 19

Columbia Missourian reports that Republicans have chosen James Coyne as their replacement for Chuck Bayse to face Democrat Stephen Webber in Senate 19.  Read it here.

·       Coyne is the owner of Coyne Agency, which offers health and life insurance policies. In the 2020 19th State Senate district race, Coyne ran as an independent write-in candidate. During that election, he received 72 votes.

·       Coyne posted multiple conspiracies about the validity of the 2020 election on Facebook that year. He also said, “I will be in D.C. on Jan. 6 with my son to protest” in a Facebook post.

·       Webber has reportedly raised nearly $1 million for his campaign.  “I didn’t realize that, my goal is to speak the truth in love,” Coyne said after hearing about Webber’s fundraising. “Hopefully, God willing, people will recognize that.”

Nicola Fundy

I didn’t know Missouri had a “Hair Museum.”

House Primaries Coverage

I’m adding these races to the 2024 Watch Spreadsheet as I write about them.

House 28 – Rep. Jerome Barnes is termed.  His wife, Donna Barnes, is running for his seat. But this won’t be a simple hand-off.  She faces a former state representative, Mike Sager.  Sager served at the start of the century in what was then a swing district.  He’s making a comeback now and loaned himself nearly $20K to fund his campaign.  That gives Sager a strong cash advantage ($20,383 to Barnes’ $876 COH) in what should be a spirited race.

House 33 – Rep. Chris Sander (see bio here) is running for his third term. He’s made some enemies.  He’s been an outspoken critic of what he feels is the Republican Party’s anti-LGBT strand.  And, he was reportedly the member who filed the ethics complaint against Speaker Dean Plocher.  Carolyn Caton is running against him.  She’s involved in local politics.  See her website here.  Sander has more cash on-hand ($28,358, fueled by a $30K loan) than Caton ($8,842 with $500 in debt), but this should still be considered a very re-election fight for him.

House 44 –Rep. Cheri Toalson Reisch is termed.  This district horseshoes around the eastern side of Columbia.   Bryce Beal (see his website here) is an attorney who went to Wash U law school and then did a stint at the AG’s office.  He faces John Martin, a pastor, and owner of Pro-Pumping & Hydrojetting, a septic service company. See Martin’s website here.   Beal has shown some good fundraising, but Matin leads cash on-hand. Martin has $32,252 (with $22K loan) versus Beal’s $12,739 COH.

House 50 – Rep. Doug Mann opted not to run for re-election.  This district is in the heart of Columbia.  There are two good Democratic candidates. Gregg Bush (see his website here) says that Mann recruited him to run. Bush is a nurse and he has significant labor backing.  Jeff Basinger is running against Bush.  See his website here. He’s a trial attorney.  Bush leads the money race with $17,749 versus Basinger’s $6,547.

House 51 – This is the district that Kurtis Gregory is vacating to run for state senate.  Not much information on this race yet.  Kerrick Alumbaugh, a sheriff, looks like a good fit for the district.  See his website here.  He has $8,770 COH.  His opponent is Mark Nolte, a land surveyor, with $2,624 COH.

Roman Passes

Judi Roman, a long-time Democratic activist, passed away last week.  See the obituary here.

Judi was a fierce feminist and served the Missouri Democratic Party for over 40 years with strength and unwavering commitment. She worked tirelessly to promote equal rights. She coached, mentored and enabled countless women and men to become elected and appointed to public offices in local, state and federal government.

$5K+ Contributions

Missourians for Healthy Families & Fair Wages (higher minimum wage)- $250,000 from Open Society Policy Center (Washington, DC).

American Dream PAC (pro-Kehoe) - $50,000 from Peter Herschend.

American Dream PAC - $5,001 from Jim Walton (Bentonville, AR).

Committee to Elect Rick Geller Sheriff - $10,000 from Rick Geller.

Lobbyists Registrations

Bradley Pryor added QuikTrip Corporation.

Drew Weber added Tempest Properties LLC, and deleted SKDM Holdings LLC.

Guy Black and Matt Jessee deleted Justice Action Network.

Michael Anthonty Evans and Matthew James Gierse deleted Public School Retirement System of The City of St Louis.

Brent Hemphill deleted Bristol-Myers Squibb, Lotto.com Missouri LLC, and Coalition of Surety Agents of Missouri.

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to Zach Monroe, Meredith Shadwick, and Taisir Yanis.

Congratulations

To Ellie and Eric Harmon who welcomed John Maxwell Harmon on Monday afternoon.  Little John was 7lbs 1.oz.