DESE Creates New Office of Early Learning

At yesterday’s State Board of Education meeting, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education announced it was creating a new Office of Early Learning.

Team Koenig Swings at Lavender

A new ad from Sen. Andrew Koenig’s IE PAC ties Rep. Deb Lavender to disgraced former County Executive Steve Stenger.

The ad’s claim rests on a $250 contribution from Citizens for Steve Stenger to Lavender for State Rep back in December of 2015.

Harassment Campaign in Senate 19

Sen. Caleb Rowden appears to be the subject of a harassment campaign.

· Rowden wrote last week about his wife being followed, about folks hanging around their street, and a late-night masked visitor (with what looks like a crowbar) to their home.

· Over the weekend, Rudi Keller reported that someone posing as Rowden sent a text saying he was dropping out of politics.

1. Hospitalizations chart.

2. Rural positivity rates.

3. Northwest MO COVID analytics

4. Priority populations for vaccines

5. Child care centers getting slammed.

6. Arts too.

7. Biden wins most Election Night scenarios (right now).

8. Powered by women.

9. Though not in MO.

10. Metro adds first electric bus.

Q2: The candidates in the 2020 General Election for President of the United States are the Republican Donald Trump, the Democrat Joe Biden, the Libertarian candidate Jo Jorgensen, and the Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins. If the election were held today, for whom would you vote?

Donald Trump: 51%

Joe Biden: 45%

Jo Jorgensen: 1%

Howie Hawkins: 1%

Undecided: 2%

Down Ballot GOPers Hold COH Advantage

The October filings show that Republicans hold substantial cash advantages over their Democratic opponents in three of the four statewide down ballot races.Although Nicole Galloway – the Democrat at the top of the ticket – has recorded explosive fundraising numbers, that enthusiasm hasn’t translated into cash for the rest of the slate.

Rex Hearts Eigel

The pro-Bill Eigel PAC, Believe in Life and Liberty, received a $150,000 contribution from Rex Sinquefield yesterday.

Parade of Ads

Three weeks until Election Day… lots of new ads rolling out….

Meet D Hemphill Consulting

Deanna Hemphill announced she’s launching D Hemphill Consulting LLC. The new firm will provide local and state lobbying.

Hemphill is a respected veteran in the hallways. She’s been in the building since 2006 when she started her career with Mike Winter. In 2013, she moved over to Pelopidas’ Gate Way Group.

Over those 14 years, she built a network of relationships throughout state government and lobbied on a wide range of diverse issues including education, telecommunications, healthcare, appropriations, as well as regulatory matters.

· Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe posted his October report over the weekend. It showed $160K raised in the month of September. Adding that to his 8-Day and 30-Day reports and it looks like Kehoe raised $390K during the last three months. He now has $577K cash on-hand in his candidate committee. His PAC, American Dream PAC, hasn’t filed its report yet. One observer: “As when he led the Republican Senate campaign arm, he's showing his fundraising chops thanks to a solid statewide network built over his business career. Remember, the election is in 22 days, but 2024 starts in 23 days!”

1. Dem nightmare

2. COVID Contraction

3. Stimulus consequence

4. Reason to Wayfair

5. Education matters

6. Fewer foreign students

7. COVID cases comparison

8. More cases, fewer deaths

9. Arf city

RGA Drops Another $4M into Gov Race

Nothing says “tightening race” like the Republican Governors Association dropping in another $4 million. And that’s what happened yesterday.

This brings the RGA’s total investment into the race to over $12.6 million.

Driving the Day: Gov’s Debate

The postponed gubernatorial debate will take place today at 2PM. But with four candidates – the Green and Libertarian parties will be represented – it’s harder for the two major party candidates to engage each other as easily. Probably the best either campaign hopes for is a clip that can be repurposed into a catchy web ad.

Parson Reverses Some Withholds

Governor Mike Parson announced he was releasing $38 million in budget appropriations he’d previously restricted during the initial economic uncertainty of the COVID outbreak. Additionally, he announced about $95 million in CARES Act funding.

Team Galloway: Race Within MOE
Between September 28 and October 2, 2020, Garin-Hart-Yang conducted a survey among 600 likely Missouri voters. This survey, which was conducted among landlines and cell phones, has a margin of error of +4.1%.
State Auditor Galloway has closed the gap with incumbent Mike Parson and the gubernatorial race is within the margin of error and basically a dead-heat, with Parson at 50% support and Galloway at 48%...

The Battle for the Suburbs

The heavy political fighting in Missouri is concentrated in the suburbs this cycle.

The battle so far has revolved around messaging.

Republicans made a pivot months ago to make crime the focus of their message. Democrats have kept COVID as their main issue.

Galloway Announces HUGE Quarter

In an email blast over the weekend, Auditor Nicole Galloway wrote: [M]y team has been tabulating the full total for our quarterly report that isn't due till the 15th, and now, I wanted to share the new total with you: $3,000,000…

1. Who Does the Work?

2. Covid in Context

3. Vaccine Trust

4. Hold the Popcorn.

5. The Other Epidemic

6. Democracy on the March.

7. Reading too!

8. Blackberry RIP

Big Checks Continue

A month from Election Day and the big checks are still coming into campaigns…

· The Republican Governors Association sent a fresh $3 million to their Missouri committee. That money will end up in the pro-Mike Parson PAC, Uniting Missouri, which has been running an independent campaign for Parson.

CLEAN Gets Another $1.2M

The campaign against Amendment 3 (CLEANER) continues to land big checks with one month until the election.