MOScout Daily Update: Paladin PAC Makes Moves - IPs Take November Spotlight - Schmitt as Trump AG? - SBOE Agenda and more…
Paladin PAC Spreads $$$ Around
In the large contributions, there are a few checks from Paladin PAC to incoming senators. And a check from J&J Ventures Gaming of Missouri, LLC into the Paladin PAC.
J&J Ventures does amusement games – and video gambling. But they don’t have any video gambling in Missouri. Unlike the gray machines, they’re waiting for the legislature to give the green light.
Casinos are opposed to video gambling outside of their venues. Yet gray machines have proliferated unabated, despite some pushback from local municipalities. Some folks think that, with the gray machines operating, Missouri should legalize the practice to better regulate it. Others would like to outlaw gray machines entirely. But a legislative solution has been elusive for the past several years. Often the issue has been entangled with sports betting.
Paladin PAC has been largely funded by JJ Ventures. They contributed about $200,000 earlier this year, and then this fresh $100,000 over the weekend.
That money has gone to a variety of legislators. Some of the biggest checks…
· Sen. Denny Hoskins ($25K to Old Drum Conservative PAC)
· Sen-elect. Jamie Burger ($25K to Bootheel Values PAC)
· Sen-elect. Mike Henderson ($25K to The Leadbelt PAC)
· Speaker-elect Jon Patterson ($25K to Missouri Alliance PAC)
Other PACS receiving checks…
· American Dream PAC – Mike Kehoe ($10K)
· The Wonderdog PAC – Kurtis Gregory ($10K)
· 1776 PAC – Nick Schroer ($10K)
· BB Freedom Fund – Ben Brown ($10K)
· HOMEFRONT PAC – Stephen Webber ($7,600)
· Protect our Kids PAC – Adam Schnelting ($7,500)
· Liberty and Justice PAC – Andrew Bailey ($7,175)
· True Patriot PAC – Rick Brattin ($6K).
In Jefferson City, J&J Ventures is represented by Jeff Altmann, Andy Arnold, Andrew Arnold, Tim Green, Matthew Hortenstine, Kyna Iman, Ryan Rowden, and Troy Stemming.
Biggest Battles Over IPs This November?
After a primary election in which the television (and streaming) ads were dominated by Republican primaries, it looks like the next six weeks will now be largely ad about ballot questions.
· The pro-choice campaign Missourians for Constitutional Freedom added another $1.2 million over the weekend. Their known fundraising in the last two months has exceeded $11 million.
· The pro-sports betting campaign Winning for Missouri Education has brought in $15 million in the past two months while the opposing committee, Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment, received over $4 million.
· Over the weekend, the Yes on 5 committee, supporting a new casino in the Lake of the Ozarks, received over $1 million in contributions.
· Missourians for Healthy Families & Fair Wages, the committee backing the increase in the minimum wage doesn’t appear to have any opposition, but still has added $1.5 million to its coffers in the last two months.
SBOE Stays the Course on Legislative Agenda
Springfield News Leader reports on the legislative agenda of the State Board of Education. Read it here.
· Citing progress in recent years, the Missouri Board of Education plans to stick with many of its legislative priorities going into 2025… A former lawmaker, [Board President Charlie] Shields said constantly changing up the message can lead to confusion. “Being consistent on that, what we think is important, that resonates with legislators so it’s not a new set of priorities every year,” he said.
· He said the changes requested by the state board and, by extension, the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, need to be attainable. “You have to realize what’s in the realm of the doable and what is not,” Shields said. “We are a very big part of the state budget between our department and just education in general but there are limitations. People need to understand on our end as well as on their end that there’s only so many state revenues. It’s not a bottomless number that you can continue ‘This is a need, you have to fill it.’ We have to live within the realities of the state budget.”
· Board member Mary Schrag, who outlined the proposed legislative priorities for the 2025 session, said one overarching goal is to ensure enough funding to support that $40,000 minimum teacher salary.
AG Schmitt?
In a recent piece from The Hill imagining a second Trump Administration, Eric Schmitt is mentioned as a possible Attorney General.
The former president will likely look for an attorney general who is willing to back up his administration’s efforts to crack down on immigration and test the bounds of executive power. One name that has come up among lawmakers and Trump allies is Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), who previously served as Missouri’s attorney general. The Missouri senator has emerged as a forceful advocate for cracking down on the administrative state, which would be one of Trump’s top priorities in a second term.
eMailbag on Weekender
· On Senate 15 poll: That is really great news for Pereles. He just released his first two ads last week and didn't go live until this week. Gregory spent over $600K to communicate to voters in the primary while Pereles spent $35K. There is room to grow for Pereles as he begins to communicate to voters.
· On Hallway House predictions: Anyone expecting House Dems to pickup seats needs to look at MEC filings. HRCC is likely to bury any competitive Dem in a pile of mail and digital so high you’ll be able to see it from space. Everyone feels good about their race until the opposition starts communicating 4 weeks earlier than your budget allows. Dems may slop into a win but that will be the exception not the rule.
Lobbyists Registrations
Noah Reandeau added FFF Enterprises, Inc.
$5K+ Contributions
Missourians for Constitutional Freedom (pro-choice IP) - $1,230,000 from Advocacy Action Fund (Menlo Park, CA).
Missourians for Constitutional Freedom - $30,000 from Missouri Family Health Council.
Yes on 5 (new casino IP) – 629,999 from Bally's Corp (Providence, RI).
Yes on 5 – $627,000 from Osage Landing Development Company.
American Dream PAC (pro-Kehoe) - $5,650 from John Oconnell.
Liberty and Justice PAC (pro-Bailey) - $50,000 from Miriam Adelson (Las Vegas, NV).
Liberty and Justice PAC - $10,000 from Cheyenne International.
Independence Leadership PAC (pro-Sauls) - $7,600 from Alliance for Progress LLC.
HOMEFRONT PAC (pro-Webber) - $7,600 from Paladin PAC.
Renew Action PAC - $26,494 from Ranger Power, LLC (Chicago, IL).
Paladin PAC - $105,000 from J&J Ventures Missouri LLC 1400 S. Ramey Ave Effingham IL
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to John Hewkin.