MOScout Daily Update: Page Drops - Ashcroft Passes on Senate Bid - Dean Challenge - Chiefs Exit? - Hawley’s Populism and more…
Quick Friday update…
Page Drops Re-election Bid
St. Louis County Executive Sam Page announced that he would not seek another term. St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports… Page said in an emailed statement that "too many leaders have forgotten that courage means standing up for what's right, not what brings them headlines or takes someone else down… So, I've made a decision that I believe takes courage: I'm not running for re-election to a third term… Instead of spending next year campaigning, I'm going to spend my last year in office doing what I've always done — focusing completely on you and the work that matters."
There’s speculation that County Assessor Jake Zimmerman will jump in now. Additionally, one reader texted me that “a draft committee for Doug Beck for County Executive is making calls to different business leaders and elected officials.” I assume there are others taking indications of interest from their donor base.
Two things to keep in mind…
· First, this is basically the top Democratic job in the state. St. Louis County is the largest county in the state with a population topping a million people. With the statewide offices now solidly Republican for the foreseeable future, this is really the plateau for a Democrat – excepting CD-1.
· Second, for anyone thinking of jumping in, Sen. Brian Williams has a running head start. His fundraising machine was kicking three months ago, and he’s been lassoing commitments and building his team. The timeline to get in is pretty short. I would think we’ll have a clear view how this shakes out pretty early in January.
Ashcroft Forgoes Senate 6 Race
Katie Ashcroft, long rumored to be considering a Senate bid, has opted not to run. “Campaigns demand an extraordinary amount of time and energy. After careful reflection, Katie has decided not to run for state senate at this time, choosing instead to focus on raising her young family, and looks forward to supporting a candidate to represent her community in next August’s election.”
· She would have been a tough opponent. But now the race to succeed Sen. Mike Bernskoetter becomes a 4-way Republican primary: Chuck Gatschenberger, Derrick Spicer, Rep. Rudy Veit, and Jake Vogel.
Dean Challenge
Springfield News-Leader reports that Rep. Jeremy Dean faces a serious Republican challenger. Read it here.
Russell "Russ" Gosselin, founder and CEO of Elevate Lives, will be running as a Republican for the seat that covers central and northwestern parts of Springfield. He will be challenging incumbent Jeremy Dean, who was first elected to the seat in 2024.
· Gosselin has held positions within the nonprofit, religious, retail, construction and media sectors. He founded Elevate Lives in 2007 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The organization supports and empowers impoverished neighborhoods by creating a stabilizing home environment. Gosselin was invited by Convoy of Hope to relocate to Springfield in 2012…
· According to a news release announcing Gosselin's campaign, if elected, he hopes to focus on public safety, education, infrastructure and social services reform...
This is a battleground seat. Dean prevailed over Republican Stephanos Freeman 51%-48% in 2024. And the episode of Dean’s obscene text message to his colleague could give him trouble with Independents.
Chiefs to KS?
Speculation is running hot over the future of the Chiefs after a tweet by a sport-talk radio dude…
There is a meeting scheduled in Topeka on Monday. I'm being told the Chiefs are scheduled to be at that meeting, however the Royals are not. Barring a last minute "screw up by someone at the top" announcing the Chiefs are moving to Kansas will happen after that meeting.
We’ll see…
Poll: Hawley In Touch With MOians
Semafor reports on polling by Senator Josh Hawley’s consultants, OnMessage, that his working class / economic populism positions are supported by a majority of Missourians. See the polling memo here. Among its findings…
· Missouri voters overwhelmingly support increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.
· A majority (55%) of Missouri voters support extending the ACA subsidies.
Why It Matters
Dems have been flummoxed for a while why the state has been voting consistently for Republicans while approving economic ballot initiatives which Republicans oppose. It’s a contradiction that Hawley is trying to resolve. And it fits with the emerging realignment of Donald Trump’s Republican Party. Generally speaking, higher income Americans are voting Democratic now, while Trump has dominated working-class whites.
$5K+ Contributions
American Dream PAC (pro-Kehoe) - $7,500 from Pfizer Inc. (Memphis, TN).
Serve Missouri PAC (pro-McCreery) - $20,000 from Missouri Gaming PAC.
Serve Missouri PAC - $15,000 from Penn Entertainment, Inc. (Wyomissing, PA).
Missouri Alliance PAC (pro-Patterson) - $10,000 from Jim Walton (Bentonville, AR).
PROUD PAC (pro-Proudy) - $10,000 from Charles Deutsh.
People Not Politicians - $200,000 from Focus for Democracy Fund (Washington, DC).
The Rowdy PAC - $12,400 from J & J Ventures Gaming of Missouri LLC (Effingham, IL).
Senate Democratic Campaign Committee - $20,000 from Missouri Gaming PAC.
Committee To Elect Steve Ehlmann - $10,000 from Randall Schilling.
Lobbyist Registrations
Jay Hahn and Ryan DeBoef added The Good Food Institute, Inc.
Todd Richardson added the clients of Catalyst.
Tyler Travers added American Civil Liberties Union – Missouri, and Missouri Appleseed.
Jerry Hobbs deleted 4Me4We LLC, Flotron & McIntosh, UV Angel, and Book Retriever.
Erin Schrimpf deleted Tata America International Corporation “TCS,” Adobe Inc, and Hahn DeBoef LLC.
Happy Birthday
Happy birthdays to Sen. Nick Schroer (the big 4-0), Josh Haynes, and Greg Porter.
Saturday: Claudia Kehoe, Gregory Smith, Bob Jacobi, Bart Korman, Ben Murray, Dan Bryar, Ellen Sherberg, and Melissa Furey.
Sunday: Sen. Andrew Koenig, Rep. Barry Hovis, Don Rone, John Combest, Duane Lester, and Virginia Young.
MOScout Schedule
No MOScout this weekend.