Missouri GOP Praises Blunt, Tips Obama and Kander February 21, 2015

Republicans lit into President Barack Obama Friday evening as they kicked off Missouri’s annual GOP meeting in Kansas City.

“He’s decided maybe he is the king,” Sen. Roy Blunt said of Obama, referring to executive orders issued on immigration and other issues.

The GOP conference, known as Reagan-Lincoln Days, will include a meeting of the state committee and appearances by 2016 candidates, including some who face primaries within the party.

But the barbs Friday were saved for Democrats. Keynote speaker Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire criticized Obama for foreign and domestic policy decisions, including problems in Ukraine and the Middle East.

“We need to take this presidency in 2016,” she told the group.

She also criticized the Affordable Care Act, referring twice to “800 million taxpayers” sent faulty notices as part of the program.

The figure was incorrect. The administration said this week it has sent out 800,000 bad notices, not 800 million.

There are roughly 320 million people in the United States.

Blunt did not mention Democratic opponent Jason Kander by name. Kander, a Democrat, announced his campaign for Blunt’s Senate seat this week.

But others did. Outgoing GOP state chairman Ed Martin called Kander pro-abortion and against the family. “Although I was hoping we would get no opponent for Sen. Blunt in 2016, I revel the contrast between a conservative guy who’s defended pro-life,” Martin said.

Rep. Jason Smith called Kander an “Obama puppet.”

The conference continues Saturday. Both Missouri Auditor Tom Schweich and Catherine Hanaway are at the convention. Each is seeking the GOP nomination for governor in 2016.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/the-buzz/article10793018.html#storylink=cpy

Hancock & Martin Clash Over Missouri GOP Leadership & Money November 21, 2014

(AP) – A battle is brewing over the leadership of the Missouri Republican Party as it looks toward a 2016 election in which nearly all of the state’s offices will be on the ballot.

Republican consultant John Hancock says he plans to challenge state party Chairman Ed Martin in a leadership election that will occur within the next couple of months. Hancock cites concerns about the party’s finances.

There have been times during the past year when the state party had just a few thousand dollars in the bank. Party Treasurer Dick Peerson says the finances are the worst he’s seen in 10 years in the job.

Martin says the party’s finances are fine. He notes Republicans gained seats in both the state House and Senate in 2014 elections.

Missouri GOP & Democratic Committees Consider Missouri Ballot Questions October 2, 2014

(AP) – The Democrat and Republican parties are weighing in on a pair of proposed constitutional amendments on Missouri’s ballot.

The Missouri Democratic State Committee has passed a resolution opposing proposed Constitutional Amendment 3. The measure would require public school teachers to be evaluated based on student performance and would limit tenure protections.

The Missouri Republican State Committee has voted to endorse proposed Constitutional Amendment 2. That measure would allow allegations of past criminal acts to be used against people facing sex-related charges involving victims younger than 18.

The official actions by the political parties will allow them to campaign on the measures as part of their get-out-the-vote efforts for the Nov. 4 election.
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Schoeller Hired to Run Missouri GOP March 1, 2013

Post-Dispatch:
ST. LOUIS • Shane Schoeller, the former Missouri state representative who ran unsuccessfully for secretary of state last year, has been tapped as executive director of the Missouri Republican Party.

“Shane is a passionate and articulate messenger for the Republican Party,” state GOP Chairman Ed Martin said in an emailed announcement this morning. “He knows politics and understands the state, and he will bring to the Party an invaluable knowledge of the General Assembly. With Shane’s leadership, I am confident that we will achieve success in 2014 and beyond.”

In the statement, Schoeller, 41, vowed to build on the party’s majorities in the state legislature and in its congressional delegation, and to “restore Republican leadership in Missouri’s statewide offices.”

“We must effectively communicate to all Missourians that our best days are ahead by electing Republicans committed to economic growth and prosperity for our state, and our nation,” Schoeller said in the statement.

Statewide office is where Missouri Republicans stumbled last year. The party’s only victory was keeping incumbent GOP Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder in his seat. Schoeller narrowly lost to Democrat Jason Kander for the seat vacated by former Secretary of State Robin Carnahan.

Schoeller’s ascension means two top party positions are now held by defeated 2012 candidates for statewide office. Martin ran for attorney general and lost by a wide margin to Democratic incumbent Chris Koster.

Senate GOP Campaign Backed Off It’s ‘No Money for Akin’ Pledge, Came in at 11th Hour December 7, 2012

Politco:
The National Republican Senatorial Committee quietly sent $760,000 to the Missouri Republican Party in early November, just as the state GOP was mounting a last-minute TV ad blitz to boost Rep. Todd Akin’s sagging Senate campaign, according to records released Thursday.
The NRSC funds appear to have helped pay for the pro-Akin TV ads as he was struggling to narrow Sen. Claire McCaskill’s lead at the polls. The disclosure is highly significant because the Senate GOP campaign committee promised to abandon Akin after failing to push the conservative congressman out of the race following his August declaration that “legitimate rape” rarely leads to pregnancies because female bodies often shut down.
The NRSC declined to comment Thursday night.
When asked in September if the committee would consider reversing course and backing Akin, Texas Sen. John Cornyn, the NRSC chairman, flatly told POLITICO, “We’re done.” Akin was thus left without potentially millions of dollars in financial support he would have received from the NRSC in his challenge to McCaskill.
But as November began, Senate Republicans were facing a crisis. The once-bright 2012 landscape had shifted on them. Instead of winning a Senate majority, they were fighting to keep seats. McCaskill, once seen as the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent, was leading Akin by a solid margin in the polls.
As as the Missouri Senate race dragged on and Akin made up some ground in the contest, the NRSC was in a quandary: Does it stick to its word and hope Akin could rebound on his own? Or should it flip-flop and send an infusion of cash into the race in a last-ditch bid to save his campaign?
Now it appears to have been the latter, certain to give fodder to Democrats eager to hit Senate Republicans on hypocrisy charges.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2012/12/nrsc-sent-late-funds-to-todd-akin-84735.html#ixzz2ENACBMGJ