Brattin in Senate 31

I heard from a few folks that Rep. Mike Haffner dropping out of Senate 31 doesn’t clear the field for Rep. Jack Bondon… Look for former Rep. Rick Brattin to step up and enter Senate 31.

Liberty Alliance Hits Skelton

Liberty Alliance, the new Republican organization which debuted at the Governor’s Ham Breakfast, is making an initial foray into Senate 19.They’ve put out a recording on Facebook of Democratic candidate Michela Shelton talking about making Columbia a “sanctuary city.”See it here.

Fundy for Beck

The Dems’ Senate 1 candidate, Rep. Doug Beck, will hold a fundraiser next week, Thursday September 5.  The host committee includes members of the Roofing & Siding Contractors Alliance, as well as Sen. Scott Sifton and some big labor leaders.  The event will be at roofing magnate Eric Kirkberg’s “Car Barn” in St. Louis.

In the Field

I heard from someone that they took a twenty-minute live poll on their cell phone yesterday about abortion rights and the gubernatorial race.

• The abortion debate could vie for the center ring of Missouri’s 2020 cycle. 

• It has stiff competition. 2020 will most likely be a referendum on Donald Trump; or it could be defined by the “economy, stupid.”

• But there are clearly forces mulling a strategy to put abortion rights before voters, and mulling its broader electoral impact.

PAC Formed to Support Page

  County Executive Sam Page appears to be following a now well-worn path of having a third-party PAC.  The treasurer is Brad Bakker, who lost (to Rep. Wiley Price) in a primary for House 84 last year.

Quote of the Week

Lobbyist: Was at [at event this week]… [Business executive] introduced the governor as “Parsons.” It just makes me cringe….

KC Keeps Panettiere

Mike Mahoney reports that “KC Mayor is keeping veteran KC lobbyist Sam Panettiere on the job in Jeff City representing KC interests in the state Capitol.  He’s an established presence in Jeff City.  Has been a lobbyist for KC since 2011.”

One MOScouter’s take: Definitely shows somesavvy on the new Mayor's part…

Parson Calls Special Session

As expected, Governor Mike Parson called a special session to run concurrent veto session next month.  See the call here.  Dems hollered that the issue – how many cars you can trade in – is hardly an emergency like ________.

Dem 2020 Slate Still Has Holes

Since last week’s formal announcement that Auditor Nicole Galloway will seek the governor’s mansion, there’s been increased pressure for the Dems to round out their 2020 slate.  They face incumbents across the entire ballot.

I spoke to several Dems about their prospects.

Mosley for Senate

Angela Mosley has formed a candidate committee to run for Senate 13.  The current incumbent, Minority Leader Gina Walsh, is termed.  Mosley is the wife of Rep. Jay Mosley.  They’re related to the Walton family, powerbrokers in North St. Louis County.

This is a safe Democratic seat.

Humphreys Follow-Up

On Saturday, I speculated what David Humphreys’ denouncement of Jay Ashcroft was a prelude to.  I received this note from his lobbyist, Jorgen Schlemeier…

“Dave, your assessment of David Humphreys’ statement is reading it through a political lens.  He is neither attempting to remove himself from politics nor encourage an opponent to Ashcroft, but instead his intent is one of policy, which is to get the law changed. Jorgen”

Tonight, Missouri Democrats gather for their annual Truman Dinner in St. Louis.  “The dinner is expected to have over 400 Democrats in attendance to hear from speakers Senator Jamilah Nasheed, Representative Crystal Quade, and making her first speech since announcing her campaign for Governor, State Auditor Nicole Galloway…”

Who Is Liberty Alliance?

The most buzz from the State Fair was generated by some folks wearing “Liberty Alliance” t-shirts, handing out Don’t Tread on Me stickers.  One of them was former Greitens staffer Scott Turk.

Who is Liberty Alliance?  See their webpage here.  And their Facebook page here.  And their Twitter here.

Maybe Don’t Run on the Economy?

Yesterday’s stock market sell-off has folks using the “R word.”

I’ve been saying that it’s smart of Team Parson to try to stick with the policies in the governor’s wheelhouse – workforce development and infrastructure – because they reinforce the political asset of a strong economy.  But perhaps I’m wrong and it’s best to follow the president’s lead and make America’s cultural war the centerpiece. 

TOP STORY
Big Biz News
Big business news hit both of Missouri’s coasts yesterday.
On the eastern side: “Bunge Ltd., an agriculture, food and ingredients company, will move its global headquarters from White Plains, New York, to its offices in Chesterfield..."
On the western side: “Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly on Tuesday celebrated what they said is an end to the longstanding economic border war..."
What It Means
This is likely the central theme of the Parson re-election campaign: jobs, jobs, jobs.

Meet MadamPAC

Madam for America is a new political action committee, organized last month, which has been soliciting folks for funds.According to their website (see it here) they are “dedicated to identifying, recruiting, training and electing Black women to every level of government in the Midwest who believe in our agenda of criminal justice reform, quality housing, education and healthcare as well as economic equality, voting rights and supporting small businesses.”

Galloway Says She’s In

Breaking this morning…. Audit Nicole Galloway has posted a snappy 2-minute video announcing that she is running for governor.  See it here.

From the video: “Dark money flows from corporations to lobbyists.  The governor takes their money, and does their bidding… it’s a broken system, the old way of doing politics.”

This week, the MOScout Poll looks at the Senate 27 Republican primary.  Survey conducted August 7-8. 520 likely 2020 Republican Primary Election voters... Margin of Error is +/-4.3%.

TYPE OF GOP: Thinking about the various types of voters within the Republican party, which type of voter do you consider yourself to be? Evangelical, a Trump Republican, Traditional, Libertarian, or something else?

Evangelical: 21%

Trump: 46%

Traditional: 19%

Libertarian: 2%

Something else: 12%

Copycat Shooter Comes to MO?

Missourinet reports on some bozo walking into a Walmart in Springfield wearing combat fatigues, with a tactical rifle and ammo. See it here. 

He was arrested, but the thing is, as Jeremy Cady tweets, I’m not sure there’s any law broken.  With a few exceptions, you can walk around with guns (and body armor and ammo) wherever you want. 

Stenger Sentencing Back and Forth

Post-Dispatch reports on the Steve Stenger sentencing: Federal prosecutors say 37 months in prison is not enough for former St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger…

What It Means

My reading of this is that Stenger didn’t/couldn’t help the Feds enough.  If he’d been cooperative and brought information and testimony to land a bigger fish, I imagine Goldsmith wouldn’t be hammering away.

This could be the end of the show, folks.