MOScout Daily Update: Senate Dems Outraising Their Opponents - Franks Troubles - Schwadron Pummels Plocher - More on Chamber Job - Hicks Out and more…

1 Big Thing: Dems In Senate Battlegrounds Led $$$ Race

I’ve had Senate 1 listed as a “battleground” senate race this year, but it sure doesn’t look like one.  The Republican candidate, Robert Crump, hasn’t even formed a candidate committee yet.  Meanwhile the incumbent Democrat, Sen. Doug Beck, has amassed nearly $1 million (candidate and PAC combined). 

Beck isn’t an outlier; Senate Dems are outraising their counterparts in other districts as well. 

·       In Senate 11, Rep, Robert Sauls’ war-chest of $430K is greater than Rep. Aaron McMullen, the leading Republican who’s in a 3-way primary. 

·       In Senate 15, Joe Pereles has over $600K in the bank, far more than all three Republicans running COMBINED. 

·       In Senate 17, Rep, Maggie Nurrenbern’s $450K COH dwarfs Republican Jerry Nolte’s $48K.

·       And of course, Senate 19 (Dem Stephen Webber is sitting on $800K) has been off the table for a while now the GOP. 

Schwadron Continues to Hammer Plocher

Here’s the latest of newspaper insert ads from Rep. Adam Schwadron’s.

The reverse side…

Dimmock for Congress?

It seems that Parson Administration employee Aaron Dimmock is actually a candidate for congress right now… in Florida.

Dimmock is running in a primary against Rep. Matt Gaetz.  All the while he’s employed by the state of Missouri as the “Deputy Director of Operational Excellence in the Office of Administration.”  (That paid $103,000 last year).

·       One potential wrinkle… is Dimmock running afoul the state law prohibiting state employees from running for partisan office?

Franks In Trouble

Axios reports that former Rep. Bruce Franks is looking at possible felony charges.  Read it here.

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office is recommending that activist Bruce Franks Jr. be charged with nine felony counts of forgery after an almost-yearlong investigation into a batch of unsent mailers the Maricopa County Democratic Party (MCDP) paid for shortly before the 2022 election.

The party paid $24,480 to Tempe-based consulting firm Agave Strategy for about 100,000 mailers in October 2022. Agave subcontracted through Franks' company, Blaque Printing Enterprise.  Agave Strategy CEO Dawn Penich told Axios last year that Franks gave her documents purporting to show the mailers were sent through a sub-vendor. After learning the mailers never went out, party officials questioned the authenticity of the documents, which were later determined to be forgeries, the sheriff's office told Axios.

3-CD: Hicks Stops Running

Post-Dispatch reports Rep. Justin Hicks is pulling the plug on his 3-CD campaign.  He cited “Trump’s decision to support former Sen. Bob Onder, also of Lake Saint Louis.”

·       “I am certain that there will be other opportunities for me to continue to serve our state and nation in the future, but for now, I look forward to spending time with my family and ensuring the Republican team wins up and down the ballot,” Hicks said.

What It Means

In theory this is a positive for Onder as Hicks could have drawn votes away from his St. Charles base, but in reality, Hicks wasn’t an impact player in this race.

And

One reader tips that they took “a [Kurt] Schaefer poll” in 3-CD.  “They for sure are testing to hit [Bob] Onder over his working on Covid vaccine… they asked me three different questions revolving around that.”

More on Chamber Leadership Change

It sounds like there are lots of folks that could be in the mix for the top spot at the Chamber.

A couple folks thought termed Senate Pro Tem Caleb Rowden was an ideal fit for the job (able to talk to both sides of the aisle and raise money effectively), and a few MOScouters Kara Corches, the new interim CEO, might be the best pick (incredibly hard worker, already has relationships as the face of the Chamber in the building).

·       According to the Chamber’s 2022 990, outgoing CEO Dan Mehan’s compensation was nearly $600,000.

Fogle’s Pops Gets Ink

Brian Fogle, the father of Rep. Betsy Fogle, has a nice write-up in the Springfield News-Leader.  See it here. Fogle is retiring from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, and will be an “Executive in Residence” at Drury University. “His job will be to connect Drury students with nonprofit organizations, where they can help meet the needs and the challenges of the communities served by the nonprofits.”

2024 Watch Update

I’ve updated the 2024 Watch with the July cash on-hand numbers. 

$5K+ Contributions

American Dream PAC (pro-Kehoe) - $10,000 from JK Ambulance Sales & Service Inc.

Chris Wright 4 MO Governor - $14,000 from Christopher Wright.

Ozark Gateway Leadership PAC (pro-Cody Smith) - $10,000 from New Day Healthcare.

Conservative Leadership of the Ozarks (pro-Travis Smith) - $50,000 from Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council.

Independence PAC (pro-McMullen) - $10,000 from Missouri Energy Development Assoc PAC.

SAFE Elections PAC (pro-Schoeller) - $10,000 from Paul and Linda Scribner (Dallas, TX).

Southern Drawl PAC (pro-Rehder) - $7,000 from Matthew Vancil.

Missourians for Constitutional Freedom (pro-choice IP) - $100,000 from Alison and John Ferring.

Missourians for Constitutional Freedom - $15,000 from Robert Clark.

Missourians for Constitutional Freedom - $7,000 from Lisa Carnahan.

Missouri Rural Investment PAC - $50,000 from CARDS Holding, Inc.

HBS MO State PAC - $15,000 from Altria Client Services (Richmond, VA).

MIC PAC - $15,000 from RGA Enterprise Services Company.

Missouri First - $16,500 from Altria Client Services LLC (Richmond, VA).

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to Rep. Adam Schwadron, David Klarich, Guy Black, Jeffrey Earl, Jeff Rainford, and Richard Callow.