MOScout Daily Update: $1M More into A5 Campaign - AIM Fear Highest-in-Nation Sales Tax - No Kehoe Endorsement in St. Charles - New Bush Attack and more…
$1M More Into A5 Campaign
Missouri Promise PAC, the committee funding the robust ad campaign to pass Governor Mike Kehoe’s tax plan in Amendment 5, received two more big checks yesterday totaling $1 million.
· $500,000 from American Policy Coalition (Columbus, OH).
· $500,000 from Revitalization Project (Springfield, VA).
See their latest ad, “Make Room” here. Missouri families are dealing with some uninvited guests. These two have been eating your dinner for years. Property taxes and income taxes, taking up space and resources that belong to you.
AIM Fears Highest-In-Nation Sales Tax
In a recent blog post, Associated Industries of Missouri CEO Ray McCarty writes that a report from The Tax Foundation shows that “Missouri could have the highest combined state and local sales tax rate in the nation if the state sales tax rate is increased by as little as two percent under Governor Kehoe's plan to replace individual income taxes with expanded and increased sales taxes.”
Senate 18: Candidates Running Against A5
Two of the three Republican candidates running in Senate 18 to replace Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin have come out against A5. The third is a “soft yes.” From their interviews with The Lewis Scoop…
Dusty Blue: “I’m 100% against Amendment 5… The number one reason why I’m saying no to this is I do not trust government… I’m not going to vote yes to suspend our Hancock Amendment, the very protection that protects us against a tyrannical government… It’s going to be devastating again to our retired folks and to our low-income folks. And I live in a community that’s 70% at or below the poverty level. It’s going to affect us, many, many folks, countless folks around the state. And I hope it gets voted down.”
Greg Sharpe: “For the rural areas, I see nothing but red flags on this… there will be a feeding frenzy in the Capitol of lobbyists to have their industry exempt. And the rural areas have never done well when it comes to strong lobbying, because we’re seriously outnumbered. We’re outnumbered in people. We’re outnumbered in money… I voted against it, and I voted against it twice.”
Ed Lewis: “I’m a soft yes. I will vote yes myself. I think my wife’s going to vote yes. I voted yes on the floor because I think it’s too important for us to try to do without a vote of the people, and it should go to the vote of the people.”
Other Interview Nuggets
Blue is a “moon landing skeptic”
If we did this in the 1960s, why haven’t we done it since? … We’re in 2026. We see Elon Musk shooting rockets into space daily… But yet, we haven’t been back to the moon yet. That seems very, very strange. I don’t believe it. I think it was some propaganda at the time during those times of what was happening and so forth. But nah. I can’t get there.”
Lewis’ hit on his opponents…
· “Greg Sharpe, in eight years, hasn’t passed a bill and hasn’t passed an amendment. That’s the difference between Greg Sharpe and I.”
· “Dusty appears to only want to tear down things, throw stones, and he’s even promised to filibuster Republican bills. I don’t see filibustering your own party as a beneficial thing.”
No Kehoe Endorsement in St. Charles
I’m told that despite some insistence to the contrary, Governor Mike Kehoe has not endorsed, “nor does he plan to endorse or support, either Jason Law or Steve Ehlmann.”
The Governor had indicated support for Law until Ehlmann decided to run for reelection. But the Governor has had a strong, long-standing relationship with Steve Ehlmann, including recently working together on the Gateway Regional Law Enforcement Center and other regional issues.
CD-1: Bush Faces New Attack Ad
Another third-party PAC backing Congressman Wesley Bell has released a negative ad about former Congresswoman Cori Bush. It reminds viewers that she wasn’t a team player when she was in Congress. See the ad here. As Democrats worked tirelessly to stop Donald Trump, Cori Bush attacked KamalaHarris, calling her a fascist… And Bush opposed the Biden-Harris agenda again and again, voting against critical infrastructure and manufacturing jobs in Missouri. Why would we ever send Cori Bush back to Congress?
· The ad is paid for by New Democrat Majority.
MPS PAC Releases Ad
The PAC supporting St. Louis County Prosecutor Melissa Price Smith released its first ad. See it here. What does it take to be St. Louis County's lead prosecutor? It takes action. So Melissa Price Smith got to work and cleared a backlog of 6,000 cases. It takes courage. So she fought for victims and took on nearly 400 homicide and violent crime cases in her first 100 days.
And
One reader passes along this anecdote from the campaign trail: At a recent North County vigil for homicide victims, Price Smith’s primary opponent, David Bryant, attended and “was informed that it wasn’t a political event so he couldn’t speak. So he handed out campaign flyers at the door.”
Lobbyist Registrations
Brent Hemphill added PurposeEnergy.
Mike Gibbons and Tricia Workman added Monsanto Company dba Ruveon LLC.
Thomas “Shad” Burner added City of Charleston; and deleted City of West Plains.
James Harris deleted State Shield Action.
$5K+ Contributions
Missouri Promise PAC (pro-A5) - $500,000 from American Policy Coalition (Columbus, OH).
Missouri Promise PAC - $500,000 from Revitalization Project (Springfield, VA).
Lead the Way PAC (pro-Vogel) - $15,000 from MCR PAC.
NEMO Leadership PAC (pro-O’Laughlin) - $40,000 from Evergy Metro, Inc.
Missouri Enterprise Fund (pro-Hardwick) - $10,000 from Paul and Lynn Ann.
Missouri Enterprise Fund - $10,000 from MO & KS Laborers' PAC.
Great Northwest PAC (pro-Rusty Black) - $40,000 from Evergy Metro, Inc.
Rural Missouri Values PAC (pro-Ed Lewis) - $10,000 from PENN Entertainment Inc (Wyomissing, PA).
Boykin for All PAC - $33,000 from J & J Futures Gaming Of Missouri LLC (Effingham, IL).
Another Viceroy PAC - $25,000 from J&J Ventures Gaming of Missouri, LLC (Effingham, IL).
Missouri Gaming PAC - $130,000 from Boyd Gaming Corporate (Las Vegas, NV).
Hahn DeBoef PAC - $30,000 from LEO Technologies LLC (Austin, TX).
A Better STL - $10,000 from Missouri Growth PAC.
We the People Priorities PAC - $5,060 from Missouri Conservatives PAC.
MO Soybean Association State PAC (MO SoyPAC) - $10,000 from Missouri Corn Growers Association Inc.
Living Well PAC - $25,000 from Starling Missouri.
MO Republican Party - $25,000 from Growth and Opportunity PAC.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Rep. Brian Seitz, Richard Martin, Marsha Haefner, Jeff Aboussie and Nick Robinson.