Politically Speaking

U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill’s decision to vote against Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court is a key topic of the latest Politically Speaking podcast.

St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies look into how undisclosed political money is playing into the contest between McCaskill and GOP Attorney Josh Hawley. It comes as millions of 501(c)(4) cash is going to support Hawley’s bid — and to ensure McCaskill wins a second term.

East Central College hosted a candidate forum on Thursday night featuring numerous contenders for local, state and federal offices.

St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum moderated the event, which featured questions on pressing public policy issues — as well as ballot initiatives that voters will consider on the Nov. 6 election.

The candidates that Rosenbaum questioned include:

• State Sen. Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, and Democrat John Kiehne, who are running for the 26th District Senate seat.
• Democrat Katy Geppart, who is running for Missouri’s 3rd Congressional District seat.
• Constitution Party candidate Jacob Luetkemeyer, a contender for Missouri state auditor.
• Republican Aaron Griesheimer and Democrat Pamela Menefee, who are running for the 61st District House seat.
• Republican John Simmons and Democrat James Cordrey, the candidates for the 109th District House seat.
• Republican Dottie Bailey, the GOP nominee for the 110th District House seat.
• Democrat Marcie Nichols, who is running for the 119th District House seat.

Conservative writer Jonah Goldberg is the latest guest on Politically Speaking. He joined St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies to talk about his new book Suicide of the West: How the Rebirth of Tribalism, Populism, Nationalism, and Identity Politics is Destroying American Democracy.

Goldberg is a syndicated columnist and a senior editor for National Review. He was intimately involved in the start of National Review Online, one of the most enduring political sites devoted to conservative politics.

Goldberg was in St. Louis this week for a Show-Me Institute event at Washington University Law School.

Former U.S. Sen. Jim Talent joins St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies on the latest episode of Politically Speaking. The Republican served in various federal and state capacities for more than 20 years.

While Talent is no longer a candidate himself, he is leading the charge against a constitutional amendment known as Clean Missouri.

Talent is a St. Louis County native who has served in the Missouri House, the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate. He lost to U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill in 2006. While many Missouri Republicans have wanted Talent to run again for statewide office since then, he has stayed out of the electoral fray — and instead became an expert on defense and national security policy.

You can listen to a past episode of Politically Speaking with Clean Missouri proponents by clicking here.

St. Louis Public Radio's Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies detail Friday's Missouri Press Association Forum. It featured U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill and Attorney General Josh Hawley.

The journoduo also took a closer look at the state auditor's contest between incumbent Democrat Nicole Galloway and Republican Saundra McDowell.

Cort VanOstran joins St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies to talk about his Democratic bid in Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District.

VanOstran is squaring off against Republican Congresswoman Ann Wagner, a Ballwin Republican who has represented the 2nd Congressional District since 2013. The district includes parts of St. Louis, St. Charles and Jefferson counties.

Brendan Kelly, the Democratic candidate in the 12th Congressional District, talked extensively with St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum about his decision to enter the highly-competitive congressional contest.

Kelly is squaring off against Congressman Mike Bost, who became one of the first Republicans to represent the 12th District in generations. The Bost-Kelly contest is expected to be one of the most competitive congressional races in the nation this year.

This week's episode of Politically Speaking takes a look at next week's special session of the Missouri General Assembly. Gov. Mike Parson called lawmakers back to work to pass bills aimed at expanding STEM education and drug courts.

It comes as Missouri's election season is in full swing. One of the items that voters will decide on later this year is a gas tax increase. St. Louis Public Radio's Marshall Griffin joins Jason Rosenbaum to break down the issue.

Sen. Bob Onder joins St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Rachel Lippmann to talk about Gov. Mike Parson’s transition in the state’s chief executive office — and what the legislature could deal with in 2019.

The Lake Saint Louis Republican represents a portion of St. Charles County. He’s running for re-election against Democrat Patrice Billings.

Because Mike Kehoe became lieutenant governor, Onder will serve as the floor leader during next week’s special session. Parson wants the legislature to revamp two bills he vetoed dealing with STEM education and expanding drug courts.

St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Rachel Lippmann round of some of the week’s biggest developments in the 2018 elections.

One of the topics Rosenbaum and Lippmann take a look at this week is President Donald Trump’s aluminum and steel tariffs — and how they may affect Missouri’s U.S. Senate contest.

And in our weekly election analysis feature, Lippmann and Rosenbaum take a closer look at Proposition B — which would raise Missouri’s minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2023. This push to raise the wage floor took hold recently in St. Louis and Kansas City — and may have a good chance of passing statewide if organized opposition doesn’t emerged before November.

Brian Williams joins St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Rachel Lippmann to talk about his big win in the 14th Senatorial District Democratic primary.

Williams will represent the central and north St. Louis-based district once the legislature reconvenes in 2019. The 14th District includes municipalities such as Clayton, University City, Ferguson, Hazelwood, Northwoods and Bridgeton.

Williams is a Ferguson native who worked many years for Congressman Lacy Clay, D-University City. Among other things, Williams was responsible for communicating with local and state legislative officials on issues that Clay was working on — such as moving the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to north St. Louis.

Libertarian Nick Kasoff joins Politically Speaking to talk about his bid for St. Louis County executive.

Kasoff is one of four candidates running in the Nov. 6 election. They include incumbent Democratic County Executive Steve Stenger, GOP challenger Paul Berry III and Constitution Party nominee Andrew Ostrowski.

This week’s Politically Speaking zeroes in on how President Donald Trump will affect Missouri’s election cycle — particularly U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill’s re-election bid against Attorney General Josh Hawley.

On the surface, Trump should benefit Hawley — especially since the GOP chief executive won Missouri by nearly 19 percentage points in 2016. Missouri’s public opinion polls show his approval ratings hovering around 50 percent. But Trump has faced a torrent of controversy this week with the Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen court proceedings.

State Rep. Karla May joins Politically Speaking to talk about her ouster of Sen. Jake Hummel in Missouri’s 4th District.

May is a four-term Democratic lawmaker who represents a portion of western St. Louis in the Missouri House. Her dominating victory over Hummel was arguably the biggest statehouse surprise in the Aug. 7 primary. If May wins in November, she will represent St. Louis with Sen. Jamilah Nasheed. It would mark the first time that two African-American women have represented the city in the Missouri Senate.

U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill joins Politically Speaking to talk about her quest for a third term in one of the nation’s most closely watched Senate contests.

The Missouri Democrat was first elected to the Senate in 2006. Before that, McCaskill served as Missouri’s auditor, Jackson County prosecutor and a member of the Missouri House of Representatives.

This time around, McCaskill is squaring off against Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, a Republican who is emphasizing his conservative bonafides — and his endorsements from President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.

Friday’s edition of Politically Speaking looks at three different storylines to watch as candidates and campaigns ramp up for the November election.

The first one that St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies tackle is how U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill is meeting with Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump’s latest pick for the U.S. Supreme Court. Both sides of the political spectrum are pressuring McCaskill, which comes as she runs against GOP Attorney General Josh Hawley.

As the expensive and competitive Senate race between McCaskill and Hawley continues, unidentified money is flowing into ballot initiatives — including a bid to raise Missouri’s minimum wage to $12 an hour. A group called the Sixteen Thirty Fund has given nearly a million dollars to that initiative — and has refused to say where its money comes from.

Meanwhile, the GOP nominee for state auditor, Saundra McDowell, is facing questions about whether she’s qualified to run for the statewide office. The Kansas City Star wrote this week about how legal scholars wonder if McDowell has lived in Missouri long enough to be auditor. McDowell said in a statement that she believes qualifies.

GOP St. Louis County executive nominee Paul Berry III joins the Politically Speaking podcast to discuss his campaign to be one of the region’s top elected officials.

Berry won a two-way GOP primary last week for the county executive’s office. He’ll square off against incumbent St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger in November, along with several third-party candidates.

Former Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon returns to Politically Speaking to discuss a multitude of issues, including the state of St. Louis’ education system and the challenges of gubernatorial leadership.

Nixon served as governor from 2009 to 2017. He is one of only four men (Mel Carnahan, John Ashcroft and Warren Hearnes) to be elected to two consecutive terms as Missouri’s chief executive. He also was elected to four terms as attorney general and to a Jefferson County-based Senate seat.

If Missourians proved anything on Tuesday, it’s that they aren’t predictable when it comes to how they vote.

Less than two years removed from endorsing President Donald Trump and a slate of GOP statewide aspirants, voters overwhelmingly repealed the party’s signature policy, right to work, from the law books. But instead of backing candidates that won the blessing of organized labor groups, St. Louis and St. Louis County voters decided to go in very different directions.

On the surface, the purpose of Tuesday’s primary is only to select candidates that will run in the November general election. But in reality, the results could resonate for years to come.

That’s because Missouri voters will decide whether to retain right to work, which bars unions and employers from requiring workers to pay dues as a condition of employment. And in the St. Louis region, prevailing in the Democratic primary is often tantamount to election — especially in state legislative and local contests.

So on this episode, Jo Mannies and Jason Rosenbaum break down what to look for on Tuesday. And they're joined by a mystery guest to explain some vital information about going to the polls.