Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Patch is speaking with the former U.S. Ambassador-turned-U.S. Representative-Elect Thursday afternoon.
In a few weeks, Ann Wagner will be sworn in as the next U.S. Representative for Missouri's 2nd district, following her November victory over Democrat Glenn Koenen. Before she goes to Washington, D.C., she's sitting down with Patch Thursday afternoon. We have a good idea of where to start with questions, but we'd like your input. What would you like to know about what she's been doing since election day, or what her plans are once she's seated? What does she think about the looming "Fiscal Cliff" and other matters. Give us your questions in the comment section and we'll try to get them answered.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
In the final survey of Red Arch and Blue Arch insiders before election day, Democrats said they are disappointed President Obama largely conceded Missouri to Mitt Romney.
In a primary and general election season that has seen more than a fair share of advertisements, Republicans and Democrats polled in an unscientific survey have agreed that Senator Claire McCaskill's ad strategy was better than that of her GOP opponent, U.S. Rep. Todd Akin. That result, obtained through the final pre-election survey of "Red Arch" and "Blue Arch" Democratic and Republican activists in Missouri, may not come as much of a surprise, given the fundraising challenges faced by Akin since August. His comments about rape and pregnancy saw party and third party funding sources dry up until the campaign's waning days, as the GOP largely sought his exit from the race. Still when asked, "Regardless of your partisan preference, which U…
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Regardless of their views on congressman's statement and Romney's response to it, delegates say it's time to move on.
TAMPA, FL — If Missouri's Republican delegates remain angry over the way presidential candidate Mitt Romney responded to the controversial remarks made by U.S. Rep. Todd Akin, they were doing a good job of hiding it Tuesday. Politico.com and other media outlets reported this week that some delegates were upset because Romney has said Akin should drop out of the U.S. Senate race. However, by Tuesday, delegates attending the Republican National Convention here were carefully toeing the line between respecting Romney's decision while still showing support for Akin. On a day that started with the Missourians receiving a visit from House Speaker John Boehner and ended with Romney winning the party's nomination, delegates made it clear they …
Monday, August 13, 2012
Influential Democrats polled Saturday said Paul Ryan's budget plan for Medicare is a recipe for the party to run against Republicans in Missouri.
If Missouri Republicans are galvanized by Mitt Romney's selection of U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan as the GOP's Vice Presidential nominee in the fall, Democrats appear to be licking their chops over the prospects. That appears to be one of the major takeaways from a snap poll conducted by Patch over the weekend after Ryan was introduced as part of the Republican Party's Presidential ticket. Patch asked more than 50 Democrats to weigh in on the choice and received 23 responses. When asked if by adding Ryan to the ticket, Missouri Democrats can win by running against Ryan's existing budget plans and particularly his proposal for Medicare, more than 91 percent agreed in some form. Ryan, as chairman of the House Budget Committee, has backed a budget …
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
A Patch panel of party insiders from the local and state level believes the presumptive Presidential nominee will carry Missouri in November.
If the presidential election were held today, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney would carry the state of Missouri. That's according to a recent survey of GOP party insiders assembled as part of Patch's ongoing "Red Arch" project. Previous Red Arch Survey Coverage: Of those surveyed, 57.1 percent said they strongly agreed with the statement, while 38.1 percent somewhat agreed. One respondent somewhat disagreed (2.4 percent) while another was neutral on the question. The survey reflects the general evolution of Missouri Republicans as it pertains to the likely nominee. Former Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Rick Santorum won Missouri's non-binding primary, and Romney had to work until June to cement a majority of the state's convention …
Friday, June 1, 2012
Plus: A goodbye and a thank you from your purveyor of Potpourri.
This election cycle brought about an unprecedented flow of initiative petitions -- 143 to be exact. Even though an innumerable amount of trees were sacrificed in paperwork, only four items have any chance of making it to the ballot. Earlier in May, Secretary of State Robin Carnahan announced that various groups had turned in signatures for the following ballot initiatives: It’s not known yet whether any of these items will actually be put up for a vote. For one thing, several of the items, including the cigarette tax increase and the payday loan measure, are tied up in litigation. Arch City Chronicle writer Dave Drebes indicated earlier this month that the cases may be heard later in June. The other wrinkle is that the proposals need a …
Friday, May 18, 2012
Country music and laryngitis are two of the methods employed this week.
The last few iterations of this column have noted how several candidates for the U.S. Senate utilized creative means to entice fundraising efforts. For instance, Rep. Todd Akin (R-Wildwood) used his rhetorical scuffle with President Barack Obama over student loans in a fundraising pitch. And Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) has directly attacked third-party organizations that are pre-emptively attacking the incumbent lawmaker as she makes a difficult bid for re-election. McCaskill’s campaign staff continued on a creative path in an email that was sent to supporters earlier this week. They played on the fact that McCaskill had lost her voice right before she was supposed to make a speech at a Democratic gathering in Kansas City. “Between …
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Area state senate and general assembly races are still changing after the filing deadline.
There’s one less Democratic candidate in the race for the 1st Senatorial District, which encompasses a sizable portion of south St. Louis County. Michael Vogt, an Affton resident who served four terms in the Missouri House, withdrew his candidacy earlier this week. Vogt, an attorney, raised only $100 during the past fundraising quarter, a far cry from either Rep. Scott Sifton (D-Affton) or former state Rep. Sue Schoemehl (D-Oakville). Whoever wins the primary between Sifton and Schoemehl will face incumbent state Sen. Jim Lembke (R-Lemay). While the redistricted 1stDistrict is more Democratic, Lembke does have a sizable campaign war chest. That could come in handy, especially since his first bid for the state Senate was one of the more …
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Did the Governor do it to spite U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan?
Back when he was merely a gubernatorial contender, Gov. Jay Nixon reacted to then-Rep. Jeff Harris’ entry into the race for attorney general in fairly simple terms. He said in 2007 that the Columbia Democrat would make a “super attorney general.” When Harris used that line in an ad in 2008, Nixon’s campaign put out a statement that he had not endorsed anybody in the competitive four-way Democratic primary. Harris ended up coming in third place, behind second-place finisher Margaret Donnelly and eventual victor Chris Koster. The episode showcased how reluctant Nixon can be when choosing to endorse people engaged in competitive primaries. That’s why his decision to emphatically endorse Rep. Lacy Clay (D-St. Louis) over Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-…
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Just because filing for state legislative seats closed doesn’t mean it’s too late for candidates to drop out.
This week, Linda Rallo withdrew from running as a Republican in the 89th House District. Her departure from the contest for the district which incorporates portions of Town and Country, Frontenac and Des Peres means state Rep. John Diehl (R-Town and Country) will be unopposed for re-election. Running against Diehl may have been a difficult task. The former Town and Country councilman had $219,726 of cash on hand for his re-election, quite a bit of money for a member of the Missouri House. Dave Drebes at Missouri Scout noted some time ago that Diehl, who was active last year in the congressional redistricting saga, may be a possible contender to become house majority leader. On the other side of the coin, Bob Burns signed up to run as a …
Mike Fogarty
1:23 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Ann, not everyone in your district wants Missouri to be a "Right to Work" state. Evidence shows that this merely destroys middle class wages in a "race to the bottom. more ›