MOScout Daily Update: CD-6 Update - Baird for Jackson County Exec - $$$ Into Senate 34 - AFP Hits Harbison - Meet Forthwell and more…

Seven weeks left in the legislative session.  But a lot of attention during the next two days will be focused on the close of candidate filing, and the end of the March fundraising quarter.

CD-6 Update

On social media, Nathan Willett is gathering endorsements…

Why It Matters

It means Willett isn’t backing down after the bigfoot attempt by Chris Stigall.  In particular, the endorsements from elected officials on the KC side shows there isn’t a coronation on the eastern side of the state around Stigall.

Also

·       Jason Hancock says that Rep. Louis Riggs is looking at the race.  But one consultant squints at that, “Riggs has a population hub for that Senate seat to replace Cindy O’Laughlin and didn’t [pull the trigger] so I don’t see how he can put a congressional campaign together.”

·       And of course, we’re waiting to hear if Rep. Mazzie Christensen will take the plunge.  Her path is to weaponize Trump’s animosity toward Jeff Roe, and lasso a presidential endorsement. 

And

One interesting name floated: “Chris Chinn is always a rumor for statewide/federal office and is from that district. Would have the Ag base as support but I don’t see her making the jump right now.” 

·       The point is we could still get another big name in the next 36 hours.  We’ll see….

Meanwhile

The exit of Willett from Senate 34 is interjecting new life into Sean Pouche’s campaign, and he’s responding by injecting some serious cash…

·       3/27/2026 – Citizens for Sean Pouche - $130,000 from Sean Pouche.

But…

Rep. Mike Jones, on social media yesterday, confirmed rumors that he’d be dropping his House re-election campaign and jumping into the Senate 34 Republican primary.  And the pro-Willett PAC, NextGen North, sent $127,000 to Beverly PAC which is serving as Jones’ PAC.  I assume that’s the $100,000 Herzog Contracting Corp money – plus some other Axiom-adjacent donors.

·       An easy transfer: Chris Vas is the treasurer for both committees.

Scoop: Baird for Jackson County

Lee’s Summit Mayor Bill Baird will file for Jackson County Executive today. Baird spent the weekend calling supporters and elected officials.

Why It Matters: When he was appointed to the position, Phil LaVota pledged that he wouldn’t run for a full term.  He recently changed his tune, saying he’s concerned with the current field. But Baird’s entry should alleviate that concern.   Before serving as Lee’s Summit mayor, Baird was on the local School Board, and had a successful career in real estate, founding a firm which grew to more than 130 agents.

·       Others filed for Jackson County Executive: Stacy Lake and DaRon McGee.

Maps In Effect

Judge Brian K. Stumpe spiked the final legal challenge to the Republicans’ mid-decade redistricting.  That suit had asked that the old map remain in effect while the referendum process played out.  Stumpe ruled that the suit lacked standing, lacked ripeness, was a political question, and even if these procedural reasons weren’t enough, he ruled against it anyway.

Plaintiffs' interpretation that automatic suspension occurs upon mere submission of a referendum petition conflicts with the plain text of the Missouri Constitution, the statutory framework of Chapter 116, and controlling Missouri precedent. This court finds no automatic suspension exists.

Senate 28: Alexander Event

Pretty good turnout at Sam Alexander (Senate 28) event last week in Sedalia…

House 144: AFP Hits Harbison

Americans for Prosperity has been dropping mail and running digital ads against Rep. Tony Harbison.

Meanwhile on Twitter, AFP-MO topper Gary Hollis jabs him: Tony Harbison, a leftist pretending to be conservative in a district Trump got 67%, has been online decrying lobbyist money in politics.  That's interesting...his December quarterly report is nothing but lobbyist money.  No donations from individuals in his district.  Not one.  He even created himself a nice little PAC in February so they can write him bigger checks.

·       Harbison faces former Rep. Chris Dinkins in a Republican primary.

Meet Forthwell

Former Senate Pro Tem Caleb Rowden unveiled a new business… Forthwell.  Check it out here.

Caleb brings together six interconnected ventures — spanning consulting, civic engagement, technology, publishing, and public speaking. Each one reflects the same core belief: that important work deserves to be done with clarity, purpose, and excellence.

·       Consulting – Strategic advisory for corporations, organizations, and campaigns.

·       LinkCurrent – A technology and intelligence product helping organizations navigate regulatory and policy environments.

·       ClientCurrent – A powerful, intuitive CRM built for sales teams, agencies, and service businesses.

·       Good Faith Collective – Forthwell's nonprofit home. A faith-informed civic organization focused on building bridges across political, social, and cultural divides.

·       Ideology Theology – A book and ideas platform exploring the intersection of faith, politics, and identity in modern America.

·       Speaking – Caleb speaks on politics, faith, leadership, and civic life.

The Text Nudge

The Center for Campaign Innovation says that you can give turnout a boost with a single text.  Read it here.

A single follow-up text works. Across both phases of the experiment, voters who received one text message after the canvass attempt turned out at higher rates than those who were only canvassed. The effect was modest — about 1.8 points overall — but in competitive races, that kind of movement changes outcomes.

New Candidate Filing

WITHDRAWN - District 6 – Sam Graves (R)

CD-6 – Chris Stigall (R)

Senate 2 – Michael Sinclair (D)

House 5 – Lyndon Bode (R)

House 28 – Steven W Hinton (R)

House 38 – Alec Rodgers (R)

House 74 - Maria A. Miller (D)

House 111 – Stacey Hagen (D)

House 122 – Dan Victor (D)

House 148 – Casey Carlisle (D)

$5K+ Contributions

Beverly PAC (pro-Mike Jones) - $127,000 from NextGen North PAC (pro-Willett).

Sander For Missouri - $50,000 from Christopher Sander.

Progress PAC - $20,000 from LIUNA Local 110.

Committee to Elect Collin Clibon - $10,184 from NWMO Central Labor Council COPE.

Cassandra Veale for BOE - $8,650 from N.W. MO Central Labor Council.

Citizens for Proposition A - $10,000 from Civic Progress - Jefferson City Chamber of Commerce.

Lobbyist Registrations

Carah Bright added Missouri Association of Counties.

Jennifer Monheiser added The Solomon Foundation.

Doug Nelson added Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (EBSI).    

Irl Scissors added Certainteed LLC.

Happy Birthday

Happy birthdays to David Pearce, Jeff Roorda, Wes Shoemyer, and Anne Schweitzer.