Dueling Endorsements in the 44th

The 44th State House Seat is being vacated by Rep. Jenee Lowe (a wonderful Democrat!).

Two of the three candidates have brandished some dueling endorsements. Jason Kander has had a fundraiser headlined by City Councilwoman Jan Marcason (a CCP member). Amy Coffman has long held the endorsement of Rep. Beth Low (a CCP member). She recently picked up the endorsement of Sen. Jolie Justus (a CCP member).

So, for all you political science junkies, what effect will these endorsements have on this race?

AG Race full of dualing endorsements

Common thought about the Missouri Attorney General's race was that Margaret Donnelly would pick up St. Louis - then Chris Koster got the endorsement of the prosecutor. Common thought was that Koster would get all the unions - then Jeff Harris started picking off some of the large state-wide unions like the IBEW. Common thought was that KC folks would sit this one out - then Donnelly picked up the endorsement of Rep. Beth Low and others.

Common thought was that Koster would get the rural voters - then there was this press release from the Harris campaign:

Columbia – Continuing his strong show of support throughout Missouri, former Missouri House Democratic Leader and Democratic candidate for Attorney General Jeff Harris announced that he has received the endorsement of Greene County Presiding Commissioner Dave Coonrod and Representative Charlie Norr from Springfield.

“Jeff Harris’ strong record as a leader in the House and his ability to appeal to all Missourians, not just those in major metro areas, make him the right choice for Attorney General,” said Coonrod, the top executive official in Greene County. “Missourians know what they’re getting with a candidate like Jeff Harris, and we know we can trust him to focus on the issues that matter most to Missouri families.” “Jeff Harris has the experience and the ability to run an Attorney General’s office that will work for all of us,” said Norr. “He is the only candidate who has worked directly with a Democratic Attorney General, and as a leader in the House he has fought tirelessly to address the issues that affect Missourians’ lives.”

“I am honored to have the support of Commissioner Coonrod and Representative Norr,” said Rep. Jeff Harris. “Their endorsements demonstrate the strength that my campaign is building across the state. To win in November, Democrats must nominate a candidate who can win in every corner of Missouri, not just in St. Louis or Kansas City.”

Presiding Commissioner Dave Coonrod is one of three members of the Greene County Commission. He was first elected as Associate Commissioner in 1988 and was elected Presiding Commissioner in 1994. Representative Charlie Norr was elected to the House in 2006. He is a retired fire captain with 20 years on the job, who previously served for four years in the United States Navy and two years in the Navy Reserve. Norr and Coonrod join numerous other Democrats who have endorsed Harris’ campaign for Attorney General, including former Governor Roger Wilson and Senate Democratic Leader Maida Coleman.

So much for common thought.

State Wide Candidate Wrap Up

Going into the weekend, just a quick wrap up of state wide candidates:

Gov: Jackson will not run against Blunt (too, bad.)

AG - on the Republican side, Catherine Hanaway won't run, giving Mike Gibbons a clear shot at the Republican nomination. Democratic side - Koster is rumored to announce his Democratic candidacy in the next couple of weeks. Koster may also have $1 million on hand. Donnelly announced her supporters, including local state reps Beth Low, Jennee Lowe & Kiki Curls. Harris' wife had a baby and they are rumored to have a good quarterly report.

Lt. Gov. - Dr. Sam Page is the first to have in his report. Page’s report shows that he’d raised $127,512 for the quarter ($503,480 total), spent $77,084 ($150,774 total), with $350,547 in the bank.

SOS - No one dares to mess with this Carnahan

AG Race Gets Endorsements

The race for the Democratic Nomination for Attorney General continues to stay hot and endorsements from candidates and political groups seem to be of huge importance.

We've got 3 Dems in the race - Jeff Harris (Columbia), Margaret Donnelly (St. Louis) and Chris Koster (Harrisonville). Some thought that Jeff Harris would pull Columbia, Koster would get KC and Donnelly would pull St. Louis and lots of "women" votes. Well, Harris recently picked up the endorsement of Gov. Roger Wilson (which means state-wide appeal). Harris previously had the endorsement of the State Senator from Boone County.

Koster was recently endorsed by the St. Louis County Prosecutor. Here's the big shocker - Sen. Maida Coleman (St. Louis), the elected D leader in the Senate, has come out early for Jeff Harris. “I have no doubt that Jeff Harris is the best person to hold the office of Missouri Attorney General. Jeff has proven himself to be a smart and adept leader, with integrity and intelligence. He is honest and forthright and has never wavered from who he is and what he stands for. Jeff has the conviction to respect justice and the rule of law and the courage to stand up for what is right”, said Coleman. Sen. Coleman has to sit down with Koster in the Senate D caucus; very bold move. This gives other state senators room to do the same.

That leaves St. Louis wide open. What remains next is to see what the Kansas City delegates to Jefferson City do. No doubt that Sen. Justus carries lots of influence in the hard-core D voting districts of KC. Rep. Low has lots of followers and is popular, as well. These two elected officials can probably tell you the names, addresses and eye color of every voter who will request the D primary ballot in mid-town, Brookside & Waldo.

Nothing like an interesting race for AG.