MOScout Daily Update: $1M More to Pro-Scharf PAC - Black Hits Eigel - Rex Slate? - Bean Slate? - Davis Primary - Kunce Fundraising and more…

MOClub For Growth Adds $1M

In latest round of huge money flooding the Missouri Republican attorney general race, Club for Growth added another one million dollars to their state committee.  The Club is supporting Will Scharf, and $500,000 of that new cash was shifted into Defend Missouri, a different PAC backing Scharf. 

·       This move follows large donors sending $750,000 to the pro-Andrew Bailey Liberty and Justice PAC.

Black Attack

Interesting to see Sen. Rusty Black’s PAC, Great Northwest PAC, spending its money attacking his Senate colleague and gubernatorial candidate Bill Eigel in a mailer. It’s a timely hit.  There’s a fresh $165,000 today listed from trial attorney firms into the pro-Eigel PAC.

·       This fits the Eigel narrative that his sharp rise in the polls is being met with some concern by Mike Kehoe’s allies.

Rex Senate Slate

So far this year, Rex Sinquefield has made nearly $3 million in large campaign contributions.  Most of that has been to statewide campaigns: Mike Kehoe’s PAC ($1.25M), Andrew Bailey’s PAC ($850,000), and Cody’s Smith’s PAC ($50,000).

But he has also sent “smaller” contributions to a several Republicans in contested primaries, creating what I’ll call the “Rex Slate.”

·       Aaron McMullen (Independence PAC) – Senate 11 - $75,000

·       Doug Richey (Cultivating Freedom PAC) – Senate 21 - $75,000

·       Phil Christofanelli (Gladius PAC) – Senate 23 - $150,000

·       Chris Dinkins (Red Hawk PAC) – Senate 27 - $50,000

·       Rick Brattin (True Patriot PAC) – Senate 31 - $75,000

Bean Senate Slate

Sen. Jason Bean’s PAC, Conservative Leadership for Southeast Missouri, has been making contributions into Republican primaries as well.  It’s interesting because Bean is running for to be the next Senate floor leader.  Perhaps he’s made some calculations that there’s votes to be won – or already lost – in these races.

Here’s the “Bean Slate.”

·       Mike Henderson (Leadbelt PAC) – Senate 3 - $7,600

·       Kurtis Gregory (Wonderdog PAC) – Senate 21 – $7,600

·       Jamie Burger (Bootheel Values PAC) – Senate 27 – $20,000

·       Susan Haralson (Present Day Conservatives PAC) – Senate 29 - $15,000

Team Kunce Crows on Fundraising

Team Kunce touts their latest fundraising quarter saying that they’re ahead of where Jason Kander was when he lost a nail-bitter to Roy Blunt.

[Lucas]Kunce broke multiple records for a Missouri Senate challenger, including:

Most ever raised in Q2 of an election year.

·       Kunce continues to outpace Missouri’s past U.S. Senate challengers.

Most ever raised in the first 18 months of a cycle.

·       Kunce has raised $10.5 million since launching in January 2023—nearly $2 million more than Hawley has raised since then.

Most cash-on-hand entering Q3 of an election year.

·       In the last 18 months, Kunce banked $4.2 million—nearly half a million more than Kander in Q3 2016. Meanwhile, Hawley only banked $1.8 million in that period — an 80% burn rate this cycle, 85% in Q2 alone.

Davis Has Hands Full

The July campaign finance filings show that Rep. Michael Davis in House 56 has his hands full.  I’d assumed early in the cycle that he’d face trouble when a well-known coach in the area, Todd Berck filed against him.  But the July numbers make it clear that Cass County Commissioner Ryan Johnson is the real threat.  He reported raising $34,185 and had $27,479 on-hand.  That far exceeds Davis $7,800 on-hand (after loaning himself $10K).  More troubling for Davis, Johnson knows how to run a campaign.

·       But in Davis’ favor – it’s always better for an incumbent to face two opponents and have them splitting the anti-incumbent vote.

More on Dimmock for Congress

A reader with an astute legal kind tells me that Aaron Dimmock – and most state employees – aren’t barred from seeking elected office.

“In 2020, the General Assembly added subsection 4 to Section 36.155, RSMo, which exempts most state employees from the prohibition found in subsection 2.” 

  4.  Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 2 of this section to the contrary, any employee that is not subject to the provisions of subsection 1 of section 36.030 or section 36.031 may run for the nomination, or as a candidate for election, to a partisan political office.

That exemption is based on 2018’s SB 1007 “which pretty much eliminated the merit system for most state employees, turning them into ‘at-will’ employees and not subject to the state personnel law (aka, the merit system).”

Lobbyists Registrations

Mike Gibbons and Tricia Workman deleted KLEO-Inc.

$5K+ Contributions

Club for Growth Action - Missouri Federal Committee (pro-Scharf) - $1,000,000 from Club for Growth (Washington, DC).

Defend Missouri (pro-Scharf) - $500,000 from Club for Growth Action - Missouri Federal Committee.

Believe in Life and Liberty - BILL PAC (pro-Eigel) - $60,000 from MO Republican Attorneys for Civil Justice PAC.

BILL PAC - $25,000 from MO Republican Attorneys for Civil Justice PAC.

BILL PAC - $10,000 from Shamberg Johnson and Bergman.

BILL PAC - $10,000 from McCallister Law Firm PC.

BILL PAC - $10,000 from Gorny Dandurand.

BILL PAC - $10,000 from Strong Law.

BILL PAC - $10,000 from The Healy Law Firm LLC.

BILL PAC - $10,000 from Holman Schiavone LLC.

BILL PAC - $10,000 from Langdon and Emison LLC.

BILL PAC - $10,000 from DM Law Kansas City LLC.

417 PAC (pro-Trent) - $25,000 from Rex Sinquefield.

Cultivating Freedom PAC (pro-Richey) - $25,000 from Rex Sinquefield.

Independence PAC (pro-McMullen) - $25,000 from Rex Sinquefield.

True Patriot PAC (pro-Brattin) - $25,000 from Rex Sinquefield.

True Patriot PAC - $6,000 from Paladin PAC.

Cultivating Freedom PAC - $7,500 from HCA Missouri Good Government Fund.

Present Day Conservatives (pro-Haralson) - $15,000 from Conservative Leadership for Southeast Missouri (pro-Bean).

The Leadbelt PAC (pro-Henderson) - $7,600 from Conservative Leadership for Southeast Missouri.

The Wonderdog PAC (pro-Kurtis Gregory) - $7,600 from Conservative Leadership for Southeast Missouri.

Northland Forward (pro-Nurrenbern) - $7,500 from Gary C or Anita C Robb.

Missouri's Energy Future PAC - $25,000 from Ameren Missouri.

Missouri Democratic State Committee - $10,000 from Missouri & Kansas Laborers PAC.

Missouri Priorities PAC - $24,000 from MOCS Action.

Promo PAC - $10,495 from David Steinglass (Washington, DC).

Missouri Asphalt Pavement Association Political Action Committee - $10,000 from Verde Resources, Inc.

KC BizPAC - $8,000 from Evergy.

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to Jim Gwinner, Gary Otten, Becky Cook, and Charlie Davis.