“A new Missouri ban on abortions at or after eight weeks of pregnancy won’t take effect Wednesday after a federal judge temporarily blocked it from being implemented,” the AP reports.
“The law includes exceptions for medical emergencies, but not for rape or incest. If courts don’t uphold the eight-week ban, the measure includes a series of less-restrictive bans ranging from 14 weeks up to 20 weeks.”
“Drawing jeers from abortion rights activists seated in the Missouri House, lawmakers on Friday approved a sweeping piece of anti-abortion legislation, a bill that would ban most abortions in the state of Missouri,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
“The final vote was 110-44, and the proposal now heads to Gov. Mike Parson (R) who is expected to sign the measure.”
“The bill bans abortions in the state of Missouri at eight weeks of pregnancy, except when the life of the mother is threatened. There are no exceptions for rape, incest or human trafficking.”
“Missouri’s Republican-led Senate has now passed a bill to ban abortions at eight weeks of pregnancy,” the AP reports.
“Senators approved the legislation 24-10 early Thursday with just hours left before a Friday deadline to pass bills. It needs at least one more vote of approval in the GOP-led House before it can go to Republican Gov. Mike Parson, who voiced support for it on Wednesday.”
“Police don’t know the whereabouts of nearly 1,300 registered sex offenders in Missouri, including hundreds who fall into the most dangerous category,” the AP reports.
“Missouri law requires convicted sex offenders to register their names, addresses and other information with their county law enforcement, most often the sheriff’s department. The Missouri State Highway Patrol maintains a publicly available database. Offenders must keep their information up-to-date and notify law enforcement when they move.”
A new Emerson College Poll in Missouri has the closely watched Senate race between Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and likely challenger Josh Hawley (R) in a tie, 45% to 45% with 10% of voters undecided. Governor
Meanwhile, Gov. Eric Greitens (R), currently reeling from multiple scandals involving infidelity, blackmail, and campaign finance violations, has 33% to 46% approval rating, When asked what Greitens should do next, 36% want him to resign, 33% want the governor to remain in office, and 18% want him impeached, which means that 54% of Missouri voters want Greitens out as Governor.
Sheena Greitens, the wife of embattled Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens (R), “says she was stalked by the ex-husband of the woman at the center of a sex scandal that has engulfed the Republican chief executive and his year-old administration,” the Washington Examiner reports.
“Sheena Greitens has stood by the governor’s side throughout the scandal. As made clear in this new, three-page letter to the special legislative committee, Missouri’s first lady is working closely with her husband to clear his name and revive his political standing.”
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “Over the last several weeks, the Post-Dispatch and the Columbia Missourian attempted to contact about 60 people who worked on Greitens’ 2016 campaign. Of the handful who agreed to speak with reporters, five people said they signed nondisclosure agreements. Two others… would not say whether they signed one.”
“The newspapers were told that the use of nondisclosure agreements, or NDAs, on the Greitens campaign was widespread — and workers as low-ranking as volunteers may have been asked to sign them. Now, Missouri’s governor is fending off scandals on multiple fronts, and some say the agreements may slow the release of information about how Greitens operated during the campaign.”
Democrats flipped a seat in the Missouri House of Representatives on Tuesday in a district President Trump won with an astounding 28-point margin in 2016, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Mike Revis (D) defeated David Linton (R), 52% to 48%.
Republicans held on to three other seats in four special elections on Tuesday.
“The man whose then-wife had an affair with Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens (R) has been subpoenaed to testify before a St. Louis grand jury,” the AP reports.
“Greitens, a Republican, admitted on Jan. 10 to a monthslong affair with his St. Louis hairdresser in 2015, before he was governor. The woman’s ex-husband secretly recorded a conversation with her in which she claimed that Greitens took a compromising photo as potential blackmail if she spoke about the relationship. Greitens has repeatedly denied threatening to blackmail the woman. He has not answered directly when asked if he took a photo.”
A new St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Mason-Dixon poll in Missouri finds Hillary Clinton edging Donald Trump in the presidential race, 41% to 40%, with Libertarian Gary Johnson at 9%.
A new Public Policy Polling survey in Missouri finds Donald Trump with a 10 point lead over Hillary Clinton, 46% to 36%, the same margin that Mitt Romney won by there in 2012.
“Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are unpopular everywhere but Missouri kind of takes it to a different level. Trump’s favorability there is 37/56, while Clinton’s is 29/64. With both candidates so disliked it creates an appetite for protest candidates and we find that Deez Nuts gets 8% as a possible independent candidate in the state, while a Giant Meteor hitting the earth polls at 12%.”
“Razor-thin vote margins in Missouri’s Republican and Democratic presidential primaries Tuesday raised the question of a recount,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
“Donald Trump defeated Ted Cruz by less than one-half of 1 percent, or 1,726 votes, according to the Missouri secretary of state’s office.”
“Hillary Clinton’s margin was even closer. Clinton also defeated Bernie Sanders by less than one-half of 1 percent, or 1,531 votes, the office reported.”
A new Docking Institute poll in Missouri finds Donald Trump leads the GOP presidential race with 36%, followed by Ted Cruz at 29%, Marco Rubio at 9% and John Kasich at 8%.
On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton leads Bernie Sanders, 47% to 40%.
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A new Fort Hays State University poll in Missouri finds Donald Trump leading the GOP field with 36%, followed by Ted Cruz at 29%, Marco Rubio at 9% and John Kasich at 8%.
“Lobbyists who have sex with a Missouri lawmaker or their staff would have to disclose it to the Missouri Ethics Commission,” the Kansas City Star reports.
A new bill introduced in the Missouri House “defines sex between lobbyists and legislators as a gift. As such, sexual relations would have to be included on monthly lobbyist gift disclosure forms.”
“The shocking suicides of a candidate for governor and his spokesman in Missouri have thrown the state’s Republican Party into disarray amid accusations of dirty campaigning and smear tactics,” McClatchy reports.
“While the twin tragedies remain under investigation, they’ve exposed bitter rifts in a party that’s on the verge of dominating the state but appears to be at war with itself. The fallout might have a ripple effect on 2016 races for governor, the U.S. Senate and even the White House.”
“More than two weeks after the shocking death of Missouri Auditor Tom Schweich, the new chairman of the Missouri Republican Party appears positioned to hang onto his office,” the Kansas City Star reports. “Despite a myriad of predictions that John Hancock would have to resign, he is moving ahead with the actual work of managing a party and preparing it for the 2016 elections.”
“In his final days, Schweich was said to be furious at Hancock for an alleged anti-Semetic whispering campaign last fall. In fact, among the final words he ever spoke centered on his frustration over what he believed to be Hancock’s role in undermining his candidacy based on Schweich’s faith.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
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