MOScout Daily Update: Hudson for Pro Tem - Where Senate Leadership Races Stand - Tidbits from Fundraisers - Kehoe to Italy and more…
Hudson Enters Pro Tem Race
Sen. Brad Hudson sent a letter to colleagues announcing that he’s tossing his hat in the ring to serve as Pro Tem of the Senate. See the letter here.
· Compromise is not a bad thing. Cooperation produces better legislation. But we cannot compromise our values for the sake of political expediency…
· If you have rule changes you believe are needed, we will work through them as a caucus. If you have policy priorities important to you and your district, they will receive meaningful discussion in our caucus meetings so we can navigate the challenges together with an eye toward getting the job done, not putting difficult issues aside. I believe that the office of Pro Tem should exist to help members accomplish their priorities, not to create unnecessary obstacles that make that work more difficult. The Pro Tem should serve the Senate, not the other way around.
· Under my leadership, we will tackle the big issues. We will not shy away from challenges…
Where We Are
Right now, the Pro Tem race is Sens. Jason Bean, Ben Brown, and Brad Hudson; and the Floor Leader race is Sens. Jamie Burger, Mike Henderson, and Nick Schroer.
I’ve eyeballed out a caucus vote, making guesses where senators would land (0 senators have told me who they plan to vote for). My estimate of where things stand is that Bean leads the Pro Tem race and Schroer leads the Floor race. My imagined vote count has both near a majority, but if the vote happened today, my guess is they would both fall short narrowly.
And – my guess is that their opponents would tend to consolidate votes on a second ballot. That is, Brown-Hudson voters would consolidate, as would Burger-Henderson voters.
The ultimate determination of who wins these races could be decided by who votes. Will Jon Patterson and Melanie Stinnett win their races and be in the room voting?
· The intrigue: More than one person last night suggested that we could still see an entry into these races. One rumor circulating fingered freshman Jim Avery as a possible late candidate. That rumor made the rounds a month or so ago, so it’s hard to know if it’s just recirculating or has fresh legs.
Talk At Fundraisers
I popped into a few fundraisers last night on High Street…
· The overall vibe last night was that Republicans are bracing for a miserable November. The list of woes is long… the Amendment 4 and 5 shellacking, high gas prices, Trump’s wilting approval rating even in Missouri, an already overstretched GOP supermajority. One insider hit this point passing on the rumor: “HRCC polled 14 House races and GOP is down in 13 of them.” There’s a certain gamesmanship in setting expectations, but Dems are talking about a +8 night in the House.
· As Speaker-designate Alex Riley starts to build out his team, I’m told that Erica Choinka will be leaving the Senate side and heading back to the Speaker’s Office to handle communications.
· Look for Keri Ingle’s team to start TV next week. Dems feel they have momentum on their side. They plan to hang all the House’s unpopular actions on Speaker Patterson, and they don’t think the usual Republican “too liberal” attacks will work in the district.
· The “MOMav” fundraiser of Sophia Shore’s candidates was a packed, high-energy affair. The narrow space of Bar Whiskey probably helped as did its timing – later in the evening without much competition at that time. But really driving the attendance was lobbyists’ interest in trying to figure out what kind of senators these new “mavericks” will be. There’s no clean answer. They aren’t a slate; they’re all different. Bill Hardwick is a known commodity. He likes to take on tough issues and get in the middle of the action. Sam Alexander has the polite demeanor of a gentleman – not unlike Mike Moon. Lori Rook and Jim Avery are more of the “live wire” variety. But, I don’t think any of them will be timid on the floor.
Data Center Talking Points
Axios this morning has a memo from a Republican pollster sketching out how to approach the data center issue. Read the memo here.
Unqualified support for building more AI data centers is a losing position. Voters oppose additional construction by 41 points—65% opposed to 24% in favor—and intensity runs the same way: 44% strongly oppose, against 9% who strongly favor.
Voters are not against data centers in all circumstances. They are against data centers built on someone else’s tab with no conditions.
Conditions that build support…
· Developers provide or pay for the power they consume.
· Ratepayer protection, guaranteed.
· Local water and environment protected.
Why It Matters
Data centers, Flock cameras, AI… the issues surrounding new technology are top of mind for a lot of legislators who are looking to pass some “guardrails” and reassure their constituents that they hear the concerns being voiced.
Kehoe to Italy
Press release: Governor Mike Kehoe will lead a Missouri delegation on an economic development trade mission to Italy, with the purpose of promoting Missouri as the prime destination for global business investment and expansion. The Governor will depart Missouri for Italy on September 17 and conclude meetings on September 23.
Lobbyist Registrations
David Klarich and Joshua Klarich added J&J Ventures Gaming LLC.
$5K+ Contributions
Conservative Leadership for Southeast Missouri (pro-Bean) - $100,000 from Herzog Contracting Corp.
Conservative Leadership for Southeast Missouri - $10,000 from FCA PAC.
Conservative Leadership for Southeast Missouri - $10,000 from HAHN DEBOEF – PAC.
Forward PAC (pro-Fogle) - $50,000 from Serve Missouri PAC.
Conservative Justice for Missouri PAC (pro-Hanaway) - $25,000 from Cheyenne International LLC (Grover, NC).
Vote Yes on Amendment 6 - $45,000 from Plumbers Union Local No. 8 PAC.
AFC Victory Fund - $27,040 from American Federation for Children, Inc. (Columbia, MD).
The 1821 PAC - $25,000 from Elevance Health, Inc. (Cincinnati, OH).
Living Well PAC - $22,000 from Elizabeth Phillips (Dallas, TX).
Safer Families for Missouri - $14,500 from Strong Law.
UFCW Active Ballot Club-Missouri Federal Committee - $65,000 from United Food and Commercial Workers Active Ballot Club (Washington, DC).
UFCW Active Ballot Club-Missouri Federal Committee - $30,000 from United Food and Commercial Workers Active Ballot Club (Washington, DC).
HCA Missouri Good Government Fund - $50,000 from MidAmerica Division Office (Nashville, TN).
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Paul Mouton, Sarah Henke, Karen Mohan Day, Jim Kottmeyer, and Joan Bray.