Independent’s day
Over the past week, John Wood left his job as a senior investigator for the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol, moved to Missouri and launched a campaign as an independent candidate in America’s 24th state.
If Wood has any hope of making something of the campaign, the 24th state will have to vote like America’s 23rd state, Maine.
They could also vote like Vermont, but Maine is a better example for my purposes. That’s because in 2012, popular moderate Olympia Snowe announced she was retiring, creating an open race for U.S. Senate.
Former Gov. Angus King, who had also ran for governor as an independent, quickly jumped into the race. He refused to say whether he would caucus with Republicans or Democrats until after the election and said his goal was to fix the Senate, which he said had become too toxic and divisive.
“If you have a series of leaks in the pipes in your house and your wrench is broken, you never get to the leaks,” King told the Washington Post that year. “Talking about this unfunctionality of Congress is not an academic exercise. It’s fundamental to then get to a place where we can get to these problems.”
King’s campaign looked a little different than Wood’s has so far. For one, he had already won two statewide elections as an independent and had widespread name recognition. His entry into the race effectively cleared the Democratic field of strong candidates, because he was seen as a center-left candidate. And Mainers had just gone through an election where an independent candidate split the vote with a Democrat, allowing Tea Party-backed Republican Gov. Paul LePage to sneak through.
He was also aided by the national Democratic Party, which did not come out in support of Cynthia Dill, the Democratic candidate in the race. Instead, the ads were mostly launched by outside interest groups. King got support from a group that boosted independent candidates and was attacked by Karl Rove’s PAC, Crossroads GPS.
In the end, the goodwill he’d earned among Mainers in his two terms in the governor’s mansion allowed him to coast to an easy victory, winning with 52.9% of the vote while the Democrat and Republican candidates split the rest.
King won, but he did not fix the Senate, which remains as gridlocked as ever. Wood now says he wants to attempt something similar.
“What I’m hoping is that it’ll send a message to candidates from both parties, not just in Missouri, but across the country, that while being really divisive and extreme might work in the primaries, it’s going to backfire in the general election,” Wood said. “I think we should have a center left party and a center right party, or we shouldn’t be presented with such extremes that most voters find both distasteful.”
If Wood were to have any chance in the general election, it would probably have to look something like King’s path.
Wood’s best hope is likely if Greitens wins. Without widespread name recognition, Wood would have to hope the both Republican voters and the Republican Party infrastructure abandon Greitens to support his candidacy. Missouri has been a Republican state of late, and Greitens has fans, so Wood would also have to pull some moderate Democrats along too.
It’s a herculean task for a little-known candidate, even with support from former U.S. Sen. John Danforth’s Super PAC. The well-funded candidate Greg Orman lost twice in Kansas — first for Senate in 2014 and then in the 2018 gubernatorial race.
Then there’s the whole “fixing the Senate” thing if he does win.
More from Missouri
There is just one exception to Missouri’s ban on abortions — medical emergencies. The exception opens the door for law enforcement to scrutinize any abortion performed by a doctor in Missouri. That could open the door to increased investigations by politically ambitious attorneys general as they second guess decisions by physicians in the state.
Here are headlines from across the state:
Could patient data aid enforcement on abortion ban violations?, Jonathan Shorman and Kacen Bayless
St. Luke’s reverses course, resumes offering emergency contraception, Jonathan Shorman and Kacen Bayless
Lawmaker found guilty in medical fraud scheme involving fake stem cells, Kacen Bayless
Hawley was a symbol of the Jan. 6 insurrection. He hasn’t come up in the hearings, Daniel Desrochers
Parson signs sweeping new law requiring voters to show photo ID at polls, Kacen Bayless
And across Kansas
The gubernatorial candidates have been reluctant to talk about the constitutional amendment on abortion. Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, has avoided talking directly about the amendment while Attorney General Derek Schmidt, a Republican, won’t say what he wants to happen if the amendment passes.
Kelly and Schmidt sidestep impact of abortion amendment, Katie Bernard
How the Catholic Church is fighting abortion rights in Kansas, Katie Bernard
Fauci says he didn’t call Marshall a ‘moron’— at least not directly, Daniel Desrochers
Mike Pompeo launches digital ad in Iowa and South Carolina focusing on religion, Daniel Desrochers
Amelia Earhart statue is finally coming to the U.S. Capitol, Daniel Desrochers
The latest from Kansas City
In Kansas City …
Proposed solar farm at Kansas City airport could power 70,000 houses, Cortlynn Stark
Kansas City leaders say new Missouri law criminalizes homelessness, Kacen Bayless and Anna Spoerre
Under pressure from Kansas City officials, bus agency CEO is being forced from job, Mike Hendricks
Have a news tip? Send it along to ddesrochers@kcstar.com
Odds and ends
Ad roundup
The PAC created to attack former Gov. Eric Greitens, called Show Me Values, has spent more than $1 million over the course of just one week, according to reports with the Federal Elections Commission.
The reports show that the group spent $212,486 on ads that went up against Greitens on June 24, then $528,947 on ads that went up June 28. Another $281,645 went to ads that started airing on June 29.
Meanwhile, philanthropist Trudy Busch Valentine went up with an ad introducing herself to voters by talking about how she chose to become a nurse. It’s a part of her background that the campaign has relied heavily on, as she’s more well known for being a member of the family that owns Anheuser-Busch brewing company. Busch Valentine this week also pledged not to take a congressional salary if she is elected to the U.S. Senate.
Members of Congress can’t really refuse to get a salary, according to a 1988 ruling by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. They can, however, donate all or part of their salary back to the U.S. Treasury, which is effectively the same thing.
Ketanji Brown Jackson
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson officially became the first black woman to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday. She was sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts as retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, who she is replacing, looked on.
Jackson was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in April by a 53-47 vote. U.S. Sens. Mitt Romney, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski crossed the aisle to support her nomination. Her confirmation came over sharp objections from U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, of Missouri, who claimed she was not adequately tough on crime because of the sentences she issued to child pornography offenders.
Jackson will join the court at a controversial time, as a 6-3 conservative majority has moved quickly to reshape the country’s laws. On the day Jackson was sworn in, the court struck down a plan by the Environmental Protection Agency to reduce carbon emissions from power plants, putting a bevy of other environmental regulations at risk.
Danforth dropping dough
Missouri Stands United, the political action committee former U.S. Sen. Jack Danforth created to help an independent candidate in the U.S. Senate race, says it will spend up to $20 million helping his former staffer John Wood compete for the seat.
“We will be working to ensure voters across Missouri know who John is and urging them to take the first important step in support for a new way in our politics: sign a petition to get John on the ballot,” Danforth wrote in a press release.
The PAC has already put $3 million behind an ad where Danforth talks directly to a camera and decries the polarized nature of American politics, urging Missourians to elect a candidate who will attempt to heal divisions (good luck fixing Congress).
Danforth’s involvement in the race has ticked off U.S. Rep. Billy Long. On Twitter this week, Long has written several posts critical of Danforth, accusing him of handing the election to the Democrats by supporting Wood’s candidacy in the race.
Happy Friday
Read about chosen family. I’m recommending a movie instead of a drink this week: Jerry and Marge Go Large. It’s a heart warmer. Listen to Mama Cass Elliott sing this sweet song.
Enjoy your weekend.
Looking for more?
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For more politics news, follow @Kacen, @KatieJ_Bernard, @drdesrochers, @jonshorman and @cortlynn_stark.
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This story was originally published July 1, 2022 at 7:25 AM.
