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Kunce and May compete in low-key race to take on Hawley

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The U.S. Senate Democratic primary between Independence attorney Lucas Kunce and state Sen. Karla May is not as contentious as other races on the Aug. 6 ballot.The two main contenders have abstained from leveling personal attacks or running cutting television ads against each other. And they agree on a lot of key issues. They both strongly support abortion rights, back protections for organized labor and want to continue aid to Ukraine.But the two candidates are taking different approaches to convince Democratic voters that they should challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, who does not have primary opposition.Kunce, who possesses a commanding fundraising advantage in the race, is emphasizing his experience as a Marine — and his economically difficult upbringing in Jefferson City — as a comparison to Hawley.“What I want to do in this race and when I’m in the U.S. Senate is fundamentally change who has power in this country,” Kunce said.May, a veteran of the Missouri General Assembly and St. Louis politics, said her time in Jefferson City shows she’s willing to fight for Democratic values — and bring the fight to Hawley in November.“And while I’ve been in the legislature, I’ve had many accomplishments,” said May. “I have a proven track record of getting things done.”

Tristen Rouse

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St. Louis Public RadioLucas Kunce, a Democratic candidate for the 2024 Senate race, at a rally in August at the District 9 Machinist Hall in Bridgeton.

For Kunce, a second tryKunce, an attorney and Marine veteran who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, lost a contentious Democratic primary in 2022 to Trudy Busch Valentine. While Kunce built up an impressive fundraising and organizational operation, his campaign was swamped by Valentine’s television advertisements.Now Kunce is the clear fundraising leader in the race against May. Since the beginning of 2023, Kunce raked in nearly $10 million worth of donations — with more than $4 million in the bank. He’s often outraised Hawley during fundraising quarters and pulled in key endorsements from the state’s labor unions.He said getting the backing of groups like the AFL-CIO and the state’s firefighters union is important to him, since growing up he was taught to believe that getting a union job was a “golden ticket” to stay in the middle class.“I truly believe that the only way we’re going to have power in this country against these massive corporations who buy off politicians to take advantage of us is by being able to come together and organize and come together as one and stand in solidarity,” Kunce said.

Tristen Rouse

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St. Louis Public RadioAttendees hold signs in support of 2024 Democratic Senate candidate Lucas Kunce during a rally last August.

Kunce also has stressed his support of abortion rights and safeguards for in vitro fertilization. He compares his positions to those of Hawley, who has said he is opposed to abortion rights with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother.“Missourians are in a position right now where they are tired of control freak politicians telling them what to do and taking away their rights,” he said.As he did in 2022, Kunce is advocating for Congress to provide more money to help create “a Marshall Plan to build out the next generation of energy right here in Missouri.”He also said he would aggressively work to bring dollars back to the state.He said he would support providing Ukraine with weapons against Russia’s invasion because continuing to help that country could deter other Russian invasions. And while he said that Israel had a right to respond to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, he wants to see the United States use as much leverage as possible to bring a negotiated cease-fire.“I’ve done U.S. arms control negotiations with NATO and Russia, I know we have a lot of levers we can pull,” Kunce said. “And some of it is just showing up and getting the sides to do the right thing.”

Brian Munoz

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St. Louis Public RadioMissouri state Sen. Karla May, D-St. Louis, on Dec. 19 outside Northview Village Nursing Home after the city’s largest nursing home was abruptly shuttered.

For May, a record of upsetsWhile May is way behind Kunce in fundraising, she does have prominent supporters such as St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones. May is the daughter of Parrie May, who served as St. Louis’ register and as an alderwoman. She spent a number of years working with groups like the Coalition for Black Trade Unionists and is a longtime member of the Communications Workers of America.And she also has a history of defying expectations at the ballot box.After falling short in bids for state representative in 2006 and 2009, May defeated incumbent state Rep. Hope Whitehead to represent a St. Louis-based House seat. She then beat Whitehead and Mike Owens, the husband of former St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson, in 2012 and defeated Jones in a committeewoman race in 2016.But the biggest upset came in 2018, where despite being outspent, she defeated state Sen. Jake Hummel to represent a St. Louis-based seat. She said her track record in Jefferson City and in hotly contested elections proves that she’s earned the right to take on Hawley.“I’ve traveled around the state performing my duties, and I’ve been on television a lot when we’re in debate about certain issues. So people are aware of my name,” May said. “And I feel like if I can get my information to them, and let them know about my record, I can be successful.”

Tristen Rouse

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St. Louis Public RadioState Sen. Karla May, D-St. Louis, announces her bid for the 2024 U.S. Senate race on July 11, 2023, outside the Civil Courts Building in St. Louis.

Like Kunce, May is a backer of continued aid to Ukraine. She also supports providing assistance to Israel, though she added that she would be willing to chastise Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when needed.“We can support our allies, and then also call them out on what they’re doing wrong,” May said. “So if there’s a problem with the way Netanyahu is handling the war, we have a right to call him out on that. But you still don’t abandon your allies in the middle of a battle.”May said that she supports abortion rights, adding, “I think that abortion should be accessible for individuals who need to make that decision — point blank.”“We have to make sure that details in law are not so strenuous that people die,” May said. “Because right now, you have doctors who are worried about violating the law instead of saving the life of a mother.”

Dominick Williams

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Special to St. Louis Public RadioU.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, speaks with potential voters at a pancake breakfast on Feb. 17 in Kansas City.

Hawley preparing for tough contestHawley said earlier this year that he is expecting a challenging reelection bid, contending that whichever Democrat wins on Aug. 6 will be the beneficiary of “gobs of money” from his political adversaries.“Do I think it’s going to be a tough race? Absolutely,” he said at Missouri Republican Party Lincoln Days.National prognosticators currently don’t see Missouri in play for Democrats. But that could change if Vice President Kamala Harris becomes the Democratic presidential nominee and is able to energize Black and female voters in Missouri — especially when the state will likely vote on a measure legalizing abortion in the fall.Asked if he’s endorsing Harris, Kunce said, “I’m asking enough people to vote for me right now that I’m not running around asking people to vote for anybody else.”May said she’s backing Harris, adding the vice president’s candidacy “represents a pivotal moment for women’s empowerment and equality.”

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Poll: Support for Missouri abortion rights amendment growing

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A proposed constitutional amendment legalizing abortion in Missouri received support from more than half of respondents in a new poll from St. Louis University and YouGov.That’s a boost from a poll earlier this year, which could mean what’s known as Amendment 3 is in a solid position to pass in November.SLU/YouGov’s poll of 900 likely Missouri voters from Aug. 8-16 found that 52% of respondents would vote for Amendment 3, which would place constitutional protections for abortion up to fetal viability. Thirty-four percent would vote against the measure, while 14% aren’t sure.By comparison, the SLU/YouGov poll from February found that 44% of voters would back the abortion legalization amendment.St. Louis University political science professor Steven Rogers said 32% of Republicans and 53% of independents would vote for the amendment. That’s in addition to nearly 80% of Democratic respondents who would approve the measure. In the previous poll, 24% of Republicans supported the amendment.Rogers noted that neither Amendment 3 nor a separate ballot item raising the state’s minimum wage is helping Democratic candidates. GOP contenders for U.S. Senate, governor, lieutenant governor, treasurer and secretary of state all hold comfortable leads.“We are seeing this kind of crossover voting, a little bit, where there are voters who are basically saying, ‘I am going to the polls and I’m going to support a Republican candidate, but I’m also going to go to the polls and then I’m also going to try to expand abortion access and then raise the minimum wage,’” Rogers said.Republican gubernatorial nominee Mike Kehoe has a 51%-41% lead over Democrat Crystal Quade. And U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley is leading Democrat Lucas Kunce by 53% to 42%. Some GOP candidates for attorney general, secretary of state and treasurer have even larger leads over their Democratic rivals.

Brian Munoz

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St. Louis Public RadioHundreds of demonstrators pack into a parking lot at Planned Parenthood of St. Louis and Southwest Missouri on June 24, 2022, during a demonstration following the Supreme Court’s reversal of a case that guaranteed the constitutional right to an abortion.

One of the biggest challenges for foes of Amendment 3 could be financial.Typically, Missouri ballot initiatives with well-funded and well-organized campaigns have a better chance of passing — especially if the opposition is underfunded and disorganized. Since the end of July, the campaign committee formed to pass Amendment 3 received more than $3 million in donations of $5,000 or more.That money could be used for television advertisements to improve the proposal’s standing further, Rogers said, as well as point out that Missouri’s current abortion ban doesn’t allow the procedure in the case of rape or incest.“Meanwhile, the anti side won’t have those resources to kind of try to make that counter argument as strongly, and they don’t have public opinion as strongly on their side,” Rogers said.There is precedent of a well-funded initiative almost failing due to opposition from socially conservative voters.In 2006, a measure providing constitutional protections for embryonic stem cell research nearly failed — even though a campaign committee aimed at passing it had a commanding financial advantage.Former state Sen. Bob Onder was part of the opposition campaign to that measure. He said earlier this month it is possible to create a similar dynamic in 2024 against Amendment 3, if social conservatives who oppose abortion rights can band together.“This is not about reproductive rights or care for miscarriages or IVF or anything else,” said Onder, the GOP nominee for Missouri’s 3rd Congressional District seat. “Missourians will learn that out-of-state special interests and dark money from out of state is lying to them and they will reject this amendment.”Quade said earlier this month that Missourians of all political ideologies are ready to roll back the state’s abortion ban.“Regardless of political party, we hear from folks who are tired of politicians being in their doctor’s offices,” Quade said. “They want politicians to mind their own business. So this is going to excite folks all across the political spectrum.”

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Democrat Mark Osmack makes his case for Missouri treasurer

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Mark Osmack has been out of the electoral fray for awhile, but he never completely abandoned his passion for Missouri politics.Osmack, a Valley Park native and U.S. Army veteran, previously ran for Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District seat and for state Senate. Now he’s the Democratic nominee for state treasurer after receiving a phone call from Missouri Democratic Party Chairman Russ Carnahan asking him to run.“There’s a lot of decision making and processing and evaluation that goes into it, which is something I am very passionate and interested in,” Osmack said this week on an episode of Politically Speaking.Osmack is squaring off against state Treasurer Vivek Malek, who was able to easily win a crowded GOP primary against several veteran lawmakers including House Budget Chairman Cody Smith and state Sen. Andrew Koenig.While Malek was able to attract big donations to his political action committee and pour his own money into the campaign, Osmack isn’t worried that he won’t be able to compete in November. Since Malek was appointed to his post, Osmack contends he hasn’t proven that he’s a formidable opponent in a general election.“His actions and his decision making so far in his roughly two year tenure in that office have been questionable,” Osmack said.Among other things, Osmack was critical of Malek for placing unclaimed property notices on video gaming machines which are usually found in gas stations or convenience stores. The legality of the machines has been questioned for some time.As Malek explained on his own episode of Politically Speaking, he wanted to make sure the unclaimed property program was as widely advertised as possible. But he acknowledged it was a mistake to put the decals close to the machines and ultimately decided to remove them.Osmack said: “This doesn’t even pass the common sense sniff test of, ‘Hey, should I put state stickers claiming you might have a billion dollars on a gambling machine that is not registered with the state of Missouri?’ If we’re gonna give kudos for him acknowledging the wrong thing, it never should have been done in the first place.”Osmack’s platform includes supporting programs providing school meals using Missouri agriculture products and making child care more accessible for the working class.He said the fact that Missouri has such a large surplus shows that it’s possible to create programs to make child care within reach for parents.“It is quite audacious for [Republicans] to brag about $8 billion, with a B, dollars in state surplus, while we offer next to no social services to include pre-K, daycare, or child care,” Osmack said.Here’s are some other topics Osmack discussed on the show:How he would handle managing the state’s pension systems and approving low-income housing tax credits. The state treasurer’s office is on boards overseeing both of those programs.Malek’s decision to cut off investments from Chinese companies. Osmack said that Missouri needs to be cautious about abandoning China as a business partner, especially since they’re a major consumer of the state’s agriculture products. “There’s a way to make this work where we are not supporting communist nations to the detriment of the United States or our allies, while also maintaining strong economic ties that benefit Missouri farmers,” he said.What it was like to witness the skirmish at the Missouri State Fair between U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley and Democratic challenger Lucas Kunce.Whether Kunce can get the support of influential groups like the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which often channels money and staff to states with competitive Senate elections.

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As Illinois receives praise for its cannabis equity efforts, stakeholders work on system’s flaws

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Medical marijuana patients can now purchase cannabis grown by small businesses as part of their allotment, Illinois’ top cannabis regulator said, but smaller, newly licensed cannabis growers are still seeking greater access to the state’s medical marijuana customers.Illinois legalized medicinal marijuana beginning in 2014, then legalized it for recreational use in 2020. While the 2020 law legalized cannabis use for any adult age 21 or older, it did not expand licensing for medical dispensaries.Patients can purchase marijuana as part of the medical cannabis program at dual-purpose dispensaries, which are licensed to serve both medical and recreational customers. But dual-purpose dispensaries are greatly outnumbered by dispensaries only licensed to sell recreationally, and there are no medical-only dispensaries in the state.As another part of the adult-use legalization law, lawmakers created a “craft grow” license category that was designed to give more opportunities to Illinoisans hoping to legally grow and sell marijuana. The smaller-scale grow operations were part of the 2020 law’s efforts to diversify the cannabis industry in Illinois.Prior to that, all cultivation centers in Illinois were large-scale operations dominated by large multi-state operators. The existing cultivators, mostly in operation since 2014, were allowed to grow recreational cannabis beginning in 2019.Until recently, dual-purpose dispensaries have been unsure as to whether craft-grown products, made by social equity licensees — those who have lived in a disproportionately impacted area or have been historically impacted by the war on drugs — can be sold medicinally as part of a patient’s medical allotment.Erin Johnson, the state’s cannabis regulation oversight officer, told Capitol News Illinois last month that her office has “been telling dispensaries, as they have been asking us” they can now sell craft-grown products to medical patients.“There was just a track and trace issue on our end, but never anything statutorily,” she said.

Dilpreet Raju

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Capitol News IllinoisThe graphic shows how cannabis grown in Illinois gets from cultivation centers to customers.

No notice has been posted, but Johnson’s verbal guidance comes almost two years after the first craft grow business went online in Illinois.It allows roughly 150,000 medical patients, who dispensary owners say are the most consistent purchasers of marijuana, to buy products made by social equity businesses without paying recreational taxes. However — even as more dispensaries open — the number available to medical patients has not increased since 2018, something the Cannabis Regulation Oversight Office “desperately” wants to see changed. Johnson said Illinois is a limited license state, meaning “there are caps on everything” to help control the relatively new market.Berwyn Thompkins, who operates two cannabis businesses, said the rules limited options for patients and small businesses.“It’s about access,” Thompkins said. “Why wouldn’t we want all the patients — which the (adult-use) program was initially built around — why wouldn’t we want them to have access? They should have access to any dispensary.”Customers with a medical marijuana card pay a 1% tax on all marijuana products, whereas recreational customers pay retail taxes between roughly 20 and 40% on a given cannabis product, when accounting for local taxes.While Illinois has received praise for its equity-focused cannabis law, including through an independent study that showed more people of color own cannabis licenses than in any other state, some industry operators say they’ve experienced many unnecessary hurdles getting their businesses up and running.The state, in fact, announced last month that it had opened its 100th social equity dispensary.But Steve Olson, purchasing manager at a pair of dispensaries (including one dual-purpose dispensary) near Rockford, said small specialty license holders have been left in the lurch since the first craft grower opened in October 2022.“You would think that this would be something they’re (the government) trying to help out these social equity companies with, but they’re putting handcuffs on them in so many different spots,” he said. “One of them being this medical thing.”Olson said he contacted state agencies, including the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, months ago about whether craft products can be sold to medical patients at their retail tax rate, but only heard one response: “They all say it was an oversight.”This potentially hurt social equity companies because they sell wholesale to dispensaries and may have been missing out on a consistent customer base through those medical dispensaries.Olson said the state’s attempts to provide licensees with a path to a successful business over the years, such as with corrective lotteries that granted more social equity licenses, have come up short.“It’s like they almost set up the social equity thing to fail so the big guys could come in and swoop up all these licenses,” Olson said. “I hate to feel like that but, if you look at it, it’s pretty black and white.”Olson said craft companies benefit from any type of retail sale.“If we sell it to medical patients or not, it’s a matter of, ‘Are we collecting the proper taxes?’ That’s all it is,” he said.State revenue from cannabis taxes, licensing costs and other fees goes into the Cannabis Regulation Fund, which is used to fund a host of programs, including cannabis offense expungement, the general revenue fund, and the R3 campaign aiming to uplift disinvested communities.For fiscal year 2024, nearly $256 million was paid out from Cannabis Regulation Fund for related initiatives, which includes almost $89 million transferred to the state’s general revenue fund and more than $20 million distributed to local governments, according to the Illinois Department of Revenue.Medical access still limitedThe state’s 55 medical dispensaries that predate the 2020 legalization law, mostly owned by publicly traded multistate operators that had been operating in Illinois since 2014 under the state’s medical marijuana program, were automatically granted a right to licenses to sell recreationally in January 2020. That gave them a dual-purpose license that no new entrants into the market can receive under current law.Since expanding their clientele in 2020, Illinois dispensaries have sold more than $6 billion worth of cannabis products through recreational transactions alone.Nearly two-thirds of dispensaries licensed to sell to medical patients are in the northeast counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake and Will. Dual-purpose dispensaries only represent about 20 percent of the state’s dispensaries.While the state began offering recreational dispensary licenses since the adult-use legalization law passed, it has not granted a new medical dispensary license since 2018. That has allowed the established players to continue to corner the market on the state’s nearly 150,000 medical marijuana patients.But social equity licensees and advocates say there are more ways to level the playing field, including expanding access to medical sales.Johnson, who became the state’s top cannabis regulator in late 2022, expressed hope for movement during the fall veto session on House Bill 2911, which would expand medical access to all Illinois dispensaries.“We would like every single dispensary in Illinois to be able to serve medical patients,” Johnson said. “It’s something that medical patients have been asking for, for years.”Johnson said the bill would benefit patients and small businesses.“It’s something we desperately want to happen as a state system, because we want to make sure that medical patients are able to easily access what they need,” she said. “We also think it’s good for our social equity dispensaries, as they’re opening, to be able to serve medical patients.”Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, who was the first statewide project coordinator for Illinois’ medical cannabis program prior to joining the legislature, wrote in an email to Capitol News Illinois that the state needs to be doing more for its patients.“Illinois is failing the state’s 150,000 medical cannabis patients with debilitating conditions. Too many are still denied the patient protections they deserve, including access to their medicine,” Morgan wrote, adding he would continue to work with stakeholders on further legislation.Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is distributed to hundreds of newspapers, radio and TV stations statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along with major contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and Southern Illinois Editorial Association.

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