On Saturday afternoon Missouri Democrats held a get out the vote kickoff rally at Congressman Emanuel Cleaver’s campaign office in Kansas City. Several statewide office holders and candidates, local office holders and candidates, and approximately two hundred activists and volunteers were in attendance.
Russ Carnahan (D), the party’s nominee for Lieutenant Governor, speaking at a GOTV kickoff rally in Kansas City – October 29, 2016.
Russ Carnahan, the Democratic Party nominee for Lieutenant Governor:
Yesterday we made our annual pilgrimage to Sedalia for the Missouri State Fair Governor’s Ham Breakfast, the largest concentration of politicians and office holders in one place in the state – outside of Jefferson City when the General Assembly is in session. It’s an opportunity for us to drive a relatively short distance and photograph (and sometime talk with) candidates and office holders. The entrance to this year’s breakfast was a more crowded and raucous affair than previous years. Even surreal. At one point Roy Blunt’s (r) cornfield image wrapped campaign bus was escorted along the entrance path by a golf cart – that driver parted the crowd with warnings to make way. I quipped to someone standing next to me that the scene needed to be accompanied by G. F. Handel’s “Arrival of the Queen of Sheba” from his oratorio Solomon. That surreal.
Everywhere, signs. For Jason Kander (D) at the Missouri State Fair Governor’s Ham Breakfast – August 18, 2016.
In to the lion’s den. A contingent from a rational group passed out leaflets to breakfast attendees running the gauntlet of candidate volunteers at the entrance to the breakfast – August 18, 2016.
Some of the candidates:
Mike Parson (r), the republican party nominee for Lieutenant Governor.
In the time from 8:00 a.m., when delegate and alternate registration began, to about noon, when the delegates were ready to occupy the convention floor, statewide candidates and others spent time in the hallways at the state convention talking to party activists.
Campaign visibility at the entrance:
Teresa Hensley, a candidate for Attorney General.
Russ Carnahan, a candidate for Lieutenant Governor.
Judy Baker, a candidate for State Treasurer.
Representative Stacey Newman.
Rachel Gonzalez, the youngest delegate (for Hillary Clinton) in the Missouri delegation to the Democratic National Convention.
Former Governor Bob Holden, a pledged PLEO delegate (Hilary Clinton).
Candidates filed their second quarter campaign finance reports with the Missouri Ethics Commission on Friday. Three Democrats, three republicans, and one Libertarian have filed to run for Lieutenant Governor.
For Winston Apple (D):
C151235: Apple For Missouri
Committee Type: Candidate
15517 East 40Th Street South Party Affiliation: Democrat
Independence Mo 64055 Established Date: 12/22/2015
[….]
Information Reported On: 2016 – April Quarterly Report
Beginning Money on Hand $3,857.08
Monetary Receipts + $2,398.00
Monetary Expenditures – $2,970.43
Contributions Made – $800.00
Other Disbursements – $0.00
Subtotal ($1,372.43)
Ending Money On Hand $2,484.65
[emphasis added]
If successful, at this rate, it would be a very efficient statewide campaign.
For Russ Carnahan (D):
C161008: Russ Carnahan For Missouri
Committee Type: Candidate
Po Box 190033 Party Affiliation: Democrat
St Louis Mo 63119 Established Date: 01/15/2016
[….]
Information Reported On: 2016 – April Quarterly Report
Beginning Money on Hand $0.00
Monetary Receipts + $189,675.16
Monetary Expenditures – $16,660.47
Contributions Made – $0.00
Other Disbursements – $431.10
Subtotal $172,583.59
Ending Money On Hand $172,583.59
[emphasis added]
Missouri, where everybody knows your name.
For Tommie Pierson (D):
C121464: Pierson For Missouri
Committee Type: Candidate
1269 Shepley Drive Party Affiliation: Democrat
St Louis Mo 63137 Established Date: 11/19/2012
[….]
Information Reported On: 2016 – April Quarterly Report
Beginning Money on Hand $9,176.52
Monetary Receipts + $1,918.02
Monetary Expenditures – $0.00
Contributions Made – $0.00
Other Disbursements – $0.00
Subtotal $1,918.02
Ending Money On Hand $11,094.54
If successful, at this rate, it would be a very efficient statewide campaign.
For Arnie Dienoff (r):
C161058: 6-Million Missourians For Dienoff
Committee Type: Candidate
Po Box #1535 Party Affiliation: Republican
O’ Fallon Mo 63366-9335 Established Date: 02/23/2016
[….]
No Full Disclosure Reports with financial information have been filed for the current year.
Uh, oh.
For Mike Parson (r):
C091129: Parson For Missouri
Committee Type: Candidate
Po Box 1004 Party Affiliation: Republican
Bolivar Mo 65613 Established Date: 06/15/2009
[….]
Information Reported On: 2016 – April Quarterly Report
Beginning Money on Hand $1,025,884.10
Monetary Receipts + $125,088.02
Monetary Expenditures – $71,708.23
Contributions Made – $2,560.00
Other Disbursements – $5,134.18
Subtotal $45,685.61
Ending Money On Hand $1,071,569.71
[emphasis added]
Well, okay then.
For Bev Randles (r):
C141581: Missourians For Randles
Committee Type: Candidate
Po Box 11099 Party Affiliation: Republican
Kansas City Mo 64119 Established Date: 12/08/2014
[….]
Information Reported On: 2016 – April Quarterly Report
Beginning Money on Hand $645,878.18
Monetary Receipts + $64,079.75
Monetary Expenditures – $93,945.37
Contributions Made – $0.00
Other Disbursements – $0.00
Subtotal ($29,865.62)
Ending Money On Hand $616,012.56
[emphasis added]
You can just sense the grassroots momentum. But then, who needs it?
And for Steven Hedrick (L):
C161143: Campaign For Steven Hedrick
Committee Type: Candidate
103 North Devasher Road Trlr 7 Po Box 1099 Party Affiliation: Libertarian
Warrensburg Mo 64093 Established Date: 04/07/2016
[….]
No Full Disclosure Reports with financial information have been filed for the current year.
Committee Type: Candidate
Po Box 190033 Party Affiliation: Democrat
St Louis Mo 63119 Established Date: 01/15/2016
[….]
Candidate Treasurer Deputy Treasurer
Russ Carnahan John Ross Truman Kathryn Jayne Drennen
[….]
Election History
Election Year Primary Outcome General Outcome Political Office 2016 Lieutenant Governor
The candidates in the Democratic Party Lieutenant Governor primary (filing has yet to come) currently include Winston Apple, Brad Bradshaw, Russ Carnahan, Fred Kratky, and Tommie Pierson.
The Governor’s Ham Breakfast at the State Fair is the one annual event that is usually the largest gathering of politicians in Missouri, outside of when the General Assembly is in session. The attendance this year appeared down when compared to last year.
There was no forest of campaign signs (okay, I saw a couple of lonely Tom Schweich (r) yard signs) and no gauntlet of campaign t-shirted volunteers offering to plaster attendees with candidate campaign stickers.
Senator Claire McCaskill (D) and Attorney General Chris Koster (D) did not attend.
We spent some time talking with media people who don’t despise bloggers. Yes, there are a few. And we had the opportunity to talk with some state representatives and a state senator. We asked about the coming override vote on Governor Jay Nixon’s veto of HB 253. We got some interesting responses. It appears that the Democrats believe that if the override vote were held today the Governor’s veto would be sustained. The republicans are telling others in the media that “it’ll be close” but they believe they will have the upper hand.
The buzz is that some wavering republican representatives are receiving pressure from constituents to sustain the Governor’s veto and pressure from republican leadership, facing loss of committee chairmanships, if they do.
School districts and their constituencies have been doing a good job about communicating their displeasure with HB 253. Higher education not so much.
Nope, this wasn’t on the menu, but it was the grand champion cabbage at the Missouri State Fair.
Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander (D).
Senator Roy Blunt (r).
Speaker of the Missouri House, Timothy Jones (r).
State Auditor Tom Schweich (r).
In the parking lot, on a candidate’s vehicle:
Yeah, right, give the base a reason to sit on their hands in the general election.
The Governor’s Ham Breakfast is a convenient opportunity for getting file photographs of Missouri politicians. We take a lot of photographs. Some don’t turn out:
Facial expressions captured via still photography like this happen to everyone. That’s one reason why we take a lot of photographs.
Some do:
Representative Vicky Hartzler (r).
That’s better.
There was a sign posted at the entry this year stating that photography or video recording were forbidden, unless you had a media credential. Maybe someone thought the trackers were getting to be a bit much.
Former Representative Russ Carnahan (D).
Representative Billy Long (r).
State Senator Ron Richard (r).
State Representative Dean Dohrman (r), 51st District.
We spoke with several representatives about the upcoming override of Governor Jay Nixon’s veto of HB 253. We didn’t get to ask Representative Dean Dohrman (r). He voted for the bill in the regular session, thereby screwing school districts and the higher education institutions in or near his district.
Governor Jay Nixon (D) at the breakfast.
At the point during the breakfast that the auction of the champion hams and bacon started under the tent we exited to check out the fair. In the Home Economics Building they were checking in pies for judging.
If I had only had a fork with me…
And they were judging rabbits in the poultry/rabbit shed:
Making a run for it on the judging table…
State Treasurer Clint Zweifel (D) made the rounds on the fairgrounds after the breakfast, here greeting people in one of the agriculture buildings.
There are vendor booths all over the fairgrounds:
Is anyone surprised?
Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder (r) at the republican party tent on the fairgrounds after the breakfast.
And we check one off the list:
Yes, we got a photo of the butter sculpture, sort of.
The Missouri AFL-CIO has announced that in the primary contest for the 1st Congressional District that is shaping up between Democratic Reps. Russ Carnahan and Lacy Clay Jr., they’re going with Clay – and it seems like a smart move as long as the Union wants to back a winner. As the St. Louis American noted earlier this year, Clay’s support in the district seems seriously solid.
For what it’s worth to the few readers of my posts, I’m going with Clay too. It doesn’t have anything to do with his chances, or his positions. As far as I’m concerned, Clay and Carnahan are six of one and half-dozen of the other. Both have taken positions I approve and both have occasionally disappointed me. I may have sometimes wished that Carnahan wasn’t quite so charisma-challenged, but that’s neither here nor there. Both are Democrats and Missouri needs more of them in the U.S. House, not fewer. And Carnahan, by his decision to run in the 1st district rather than in the open 2nd, has really tipped the scales in favor of fewer Democrats. And I hold it against him; I don’t really endorse Clay over Carnahan, but I oppose Carnahan out of pure spite.
The same St. Louis American article repeated the story I’ve been hearing from other sources for a few months now. The Democratic party would have given Carnahan almost “unlimited financial support” if he had only agreed to take on Ann Wagner, who will undoubtedly prevail in the GOP primary for the 2nd District seat:
Meanwhile, next door in Missouri’s open 2nd CD, the primary has been held open for Carnahan, national Democratic leaders have offered him lavish money and unlimited support, and the district leans only slightly Republican, about 53 percent. So the math is clear and inescapable – the only congressional run that Carnahan can win in 2012 is in Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District.
Does Carnahan really think that the race in the 1st is going to be easier to win?
I’ve lived out here in what has been (shudder) Todd Akin’s preserve for the past ten years. It’s conservative, sure – but not monolithic. I’ve seen Akin take the district in election after election not because he’s especially beloved (or even respected), but arguably because the challengers have been weak, or disengaged, and the party offered no, nil, nada support, preferring to cede the election to Akin in order to channel resources into more secure races – a strategy I understand when there’s only so much to go around and you don’t have really strong candidates. But it could’ve been different this time.
If Carnahan had been willing to think about the good of the Party rather than the good of Carnahan, he would have run against Wagner and, for once, we would have had, win or loose, a real race, a real chance to send a Democrat from the 2nd district to Washington. There would have been three seats in play as opposed to just two – and there’s no way that’s not better for the Party, the State and the Nation. On a personal level, thanks to Carnahan, while I will no longer be represented in Congress by theocratic Republican Akin, I’ll likely be writing futile constituent letters to the corporatist Republican Wagner. The sad part of the whole story is that it’s not even clear that Carnahan made the best decision for himself.
Candidate filing commenced today in Jefferson City. In the 1st Congressional District, via the Missouri Secretary of State, a consequence of redistricting and the loss of one congressional seat in Missouri – two sitting members of Congress from the same party facing each other in a primary:
UNOFFICIAL Candidate Filing List
Ballot Placement: First day filers (2/28/2012) selected a number by random drawing to determine their placement on the primary ballot. After the first day, all candidates are placed on the ballot in order of their filing.
Candidates are not listed in ballot order. Ballot order will be displayed after 5:00 p.m.
(Name, Mailing Address and Date/Time Filed as of 2/28/2012 11:39 a.m.)
U.S. Representative – District 1
Democrat
Candice Britton 6614 CLAYTON ROAD, #148
ST LOUIS MO 63117 2/28/2012
8:36 a.m.
Russ Carnahan 3150 ALLEN AVENUE
ST LOUIS MO 63104 2/28/2012
8:46 a.m.
Lacy Clay 6023 WATERMAN, APT 1W
ST LOUIS MO 63112 2/28/2012
9:44 a.m.
Republican
Martin D Baker PO BOX 8712
ST LOUIS MO 63101 2/28/2012
8:53 a.m.
Robyn Hamlin 21 NOB HILL DR
ST LOUIS MO 63138 2/28/2012
10:28 a.m.
Not particularly a surprise, but, nevertheless, oh my.
![Russ Carnahan (D), the Democratic Party nominee for Lieutenant Governor [2016 file photo].](https://i0.wp.com/showmeprogress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/img_6499b.jpg?ssl=1)
![Russ Carnahan (D) [August 2013 file photo].](https://i0.wp.com/showmeprogress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/img_1733x1a1b2c3i9h8.jpg?ssl=1)
