MO-GOV: Schweich dead from gunshot wound

[Ebsy]

Missouri Republicans are in deep trouble over this, and will continue to be until Hanaway drops out of the race and Hancock resigns. Hanaway is definitely now facing a steep, uphill battle in the primary, and it looks like it's going to be as bloody as the 2012 Senate Primary. We'll see who Rex Sinquefield decides to throw his money behind, but he has already wasted about a million bucks on Hanaway. Koster is definitely the favorite to win now against whoever Republicans put up, who is likely going to have about 0 name recognition. I think there is a possibility that Tom Schweich's suicide(especially Danforth's condemnation of the state GOP) is going to hurt Republicans generally in Missouri next election.

[Ebsy]

Business as usual for the Missouri State GOP.

[Ebsy]

I think Kander will put up a respectable fight for the seat, and the result will be closer than most people expect, but do your really think Missouri will dump the[/] Roy Blunt?

[Ebsy]

You would be right if there weren't Republicans that had come forward stating that Hancock had said derogatory remarks about Schweich's supposed Judaism in their presence. Pretending like that hod nothing to do with what has happened is either naive or disingenuous. I'm not sure which is worse.

[Ebsy]

We don't know exactly why Tom Schweich killed himself. All we do know is that in the moments leading up to his death, he was very much focused on the whisper campaign against him by John Hancock. You're basically trying to deflect the damaging reality of the situation by insisting on being painfully obtuse.

[Ebsy]

Brunner has launched an exploratory committee to run for governor. He's meeting with former Schweich campaign officials.

I guess he's going to be the bailout option for Missouri Republicans. I still wish Hanaway would get the nomination though just because the MO GOP deserves to lose big next year to Koster for their role in Schweich's suicide, and the refusal of Hancock and Hanaway to resign/drop out.

Brunner was supposed to be the candidate to take down Claire McCaskill in 2012. Things did not quite work out that way. We'll see what Missouri Dems have in store, but even with Brunner, I definitely think Koster is going to hold onto the Governor's mansion.

[Ebsy]

You're obviously unfamiliar with what a whisper campaign is.

[Ebsy]

How did you manage to write a paragraph and say absolutely nothing?

[Ebsy]

Kinder considering.

He would be a strong candidate. People have been voting for him as Lieutenant Governor since 2004.

[Ebsy]

This is definitely the low-point of my life, but I think kind of sort of agree with BigSkyBob? :/

I mean, the articles linked here seem to rather indicate that this guy had some issues that were triggered by a belief in a whisper campaign that probably wasn't really happening. Or did I miss something?

The whisper campaign has been confirmed by multiple Republicans who have quoted Hancock saying Schweich was Jewish.

[Ebsy]

It's not hard for anyone in Missouri to imagine that being Jewish, having a Jewish sounding name, or having Jewish ancestry would be an impediment to seeking statewide office. St. Louis has a very large Jewish community, but once you leave the more liberal regions on the City and County, things can get nasty, not to mention the rural and desperately poor regions in the south and north of the state. There are a lot of hate groups in Missouri to perpetuate the cycle of bigotry, lots of ignorant white trash to support them, and racism and antisemitism are deeply rooted. Pretending like it isn't so is hopelessly naive or worse.

[Ebsy]

They support Israel because the Jews have to be in Israel to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem in order for the Rapture to occur. Among the unsaved: the Jews that don't accept Christ into their hearts.

[Ebsy]

What are Eric Greitens odds of winning the Republican nomination? I heard he is running and I like him a lot.  He could he an excellent 2020 or 2024 GOP Presidential candidate.

Polling has been nonexistent since the suicide, in which Schweich and Hanaway were the two real contenders. My intuition would say that because she has all the money, Hanaway is still the frontrunner, but I don't know if her lead will hold. If Kinder jumps in he would probably attract most of Hanaway's supporters, who see her as damaged goods at the moment. Not a lot of people are paying attention to an election a year and a half away, so it is really hard to gauge support, especially for candidates who have low name recognition. I wish a serious polling firm would take a look at all the major 2016 races so we Missouri politicos could have a better idea of what is happening.

[Ebsy]

Oh, and according to campaign finance disclosures, we know that Koster has $3 million cash on hand, Hanaway $1.2 million(most of it from Rex Sinquefeld),Greitens $450,000, and Kinder has $56,000.