MOScout Daily Update: Wasinger Releases Ad - Eslinger $$$ to Smith - Carpenters for Contreras - Latest Filing in Defamation Suit and more…
First in MOScout: Wasinger Ad
Up on the air today… Dave Wasinger’s first TV ad. Set in his “boyhood hometown” Hannibal, Wasinger is seen walking the streets and pitching the voters why he should be the next lieutenant governor.
Towns like these are the heart of Missouri. But they’re being left behind. Politicians fight for themselves, not us. I’m Dave Wasinger. I’ve taken on powerful special interests, woke corporations, big banks, and won. As Lieutenant Governor I’ll drain the Jefferson City swamp, protect the unborn and fight illegal immigration. Career politicians and lobbyists won’t know what hit ‘em.
What It Means
Wasinger tossed in $1.5 million into his campaign at the end of May, and this early ad – eight weeks out – suggests he’s on track to use it all and maybe then some.
The ad works as an introduction to voters, hitting the usual Republican themes while trying to give his candidacy a rural connection – not an easy task given that he’s a St. Louis lawyer.
Smith Gets Eslinger $$$
This invitation for a fundraiser for Rep. Travis Smith (running in Senate 33, facing Rep. Brad Hudson) shows that he’s raising money for Conservative Leadership of the Ozarks which had been aligned with incumbent Sen. Karla Eslinger.
Eslinger resigned and took over as the commissioner of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education yesterday. And the PAC amended its filing to change the candidate it’s affiliated with.
That amounts to a $150K gift from Eslinger to the Smith campaign. On its April report Conservative Leadership showed $149,060 cash on-hand. It could have a substantial impact on this race.
But…
One consultant wonders, “Is Travis Smith wise for hitching his wagon to a moderate in a tough GOP primary in what seems like a very anti-incumbent year?”
We’ll see…
Carpenters for Contreras
One MOScouter sends me a press release from the Pat Contreras campaign touting their own labor endorsement… “Working men & women need a Senator who is respected and effective. The 7th Senate District has a history of providing that. So who does the largest union in Kansas City support? The Carpenters see it clearly, Pat Contreras is the leader we need in Jefferson City.”
· Mark Dalton, Assistant Political Director for Mid America Carpenters Regional Council stated, “Pat Contreras has a lifetime of service to the people of this city and our nation. And as Kansas City continues to rise, we know Pat will ensure that the men and women of the Carpenters Union will be there to build it.”
What It Means
With $1.8 million in their coffers, the Carpenters have the largest war-chest of organized labor in Missouri. It’s a great get by Team Contreras. This is a dog-fight of a race.
Loudermill Disputes Sens’ Defense
In the defamation suit against Sens. Rick Brattin, Denny Hoskins, and Nick Schroer, attorneys for Denton Loudermill have filed their response to the argument made by MOAG attorneys that the senators were acting in their official capacity when they tweeted about the Loudermill as the Kansas City shooter.
“Defendant’s assertion of immunity depends on a facts not conceded by Plaintiff: whether or not Defendant was engaged in ‘legitimate legislative activity.’ And that factual contention involves issues of whether or not Defendant was formulating, making, determining, creating or opposing legislative policy”
Bush’s Billions
KSDK’s Mark Maxwell looks at Congresswoman Cori Bush’s claims that she’s delivered $2 billion for her district. The claim is meant to rebut criticism that Bush has been too ideological and not responsive enough to her constituents.
· [Bush's communications aide, Marina] Chafa and the congresswoman's chief of staff, Lynese Wallace, eventually agreed to meet in person to discuss our reporting. While they still refused to hand over specific line-item details, they did agree to review each grant line by line on their laptops. Within the first few minutes of reviewing their list of federal grants, we started to spot duplicate entries that artificially inflated the bottom line totals. They deleted the errant entries and allowed us to take notes detailing the rest.
· We reconstructed that list and found it added up to be $411,241,077, a lot smaller than the initial claim. Upon closer inspection, only $208,773,512 had actually arrived in the district. The remainder could still be delivered at a later date.
· "The duplicates is just an error on my end, but it doesn’t change the number because we have others," Chafa said.
Lobbyists Registrations
Maddie McMillan Green added Visionary Integration Professionals.
Brad Willie deleted Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc.
Tony Dugger deleted Creekmoor Property Owners Association, Inc.
$5K+ Contributions
Committee for Liberty (pro-Ashcroft) - $15,000 from Sharon Herschend.
Committee for Liberty - $10,000 from Richard Green (Nashua, NH).
American Dream PAC (pro-Kehoe) - $10,000 from Matt Jones.
American Dream PAC - $5,399 from Walsworth Publishing Inc.
Liberty and Justice PAC (pro-Bailey) - $10,000 from Matthew Gornet.
Great Outdoors PAC - $25,000 from Red Dart Ventures LLC.
Operating Engineers Local 101 Political Fund - $10,000 from Operating Engineers Local 101 Political Action Committee.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Sen. Karla May, Scott Charton, and Mark Mantovani.