Statewide candidates in Missouri run cheap campaigns while ballot measures spend heavily

Just about $1.2 million has been spent since the primary by candidates seeking offices from governor to attorney general

BY:  RUDI KELLER
Missouri Independent

As ballot measure campaigns fill the airwaves with seven-figure ad wars alongside Missouri’s U.S. Senate race, the state seems about to experience the cheapest campaign in years for other statewide offices.

On Tuesday, Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, the Republican nominee for governor, reported raising about $760,000 during September for his campaign committee and another $1.3 million for his joint-fundraising committee, American Dream PAC. 

His Democratic opponent, state Rep. Crystal Quade, raised $425,000 and her joint fundraising committee, Crystal PAC, took in $7,000.

Quade used her modest campaign budget to start television advertising last week, spending about $165,000 so far. Kehoe has reserved time for later in the month, spending about $835,000.

In a news release, Quade said she was pleased with the fundraising result.

“I’m so grateful for the overwhelming support from everyday Missourians for this campaign,” she said. “Voters are sick of bought-and-paid for politicians who make life easier for their corporate donors and well-connected political insiders.”

Candidates for the other four statewide offices on the November ballot have combined to spend less than $400,000 since the primary.

Four years ago, Gov. Mike Parson’s re-election campaign raised $1 million during September and his joint fundraising committee raised $2.6 million. His Democratic opponent, then-state auditor Nicole Galloway, raised $1.5 million in September 2020.

And in 2016, the last time no incumbent ran for governor, Democrat Chris Koster raised $3.5 million in September, while Republican nominee Eric Greitens took in $4.2 million.

In comparison, spending for and against ballot measures on this year’s ballot totals $25.3 million since May, when signatures were turned in. And in the Senate race, Democrat Lucas Kunce has spent $6 million on television ads since the end of July, with Republican incumbent Josh Hawley spending $3.9 million.

Campaign reports for the period ending Sept. 30 were due Tuesday. State candidates report to the Missouri Ethics Commission, while candidates for Congress and the U.S. Senate report to the Federal Election Commission. There will be one more round of reports before the election on Nov. 5.

In the U.S. Senate race, Kunce has outraised Hawley throughout the year and that trend continued in the third quarter of the year. Kunce reported raising $7.6 million between mid-July and the end of September, while Hawley reported raising $3 million in the same period.

In other statewide races:

1. Republican candidate for lieutenant governor David Wasinger raised almost $161,000 and used $125,000 of it to start paying himself back the $2.6 million he loaned his campaign for the primary. State Rep. Richard Brown of Kansas City, the Democratic nominee, had not reported Tuesday night.
2. Democratic nominee for attorney general Elad Gross raised more for his campaign committee, $185,000, than incumbent Republican Andrew Bailey, who took in $165,000. But Bailey’s joint fundraising committee, Liberty and Justice PAC, raised $600,000 as well. Gross does not have a separate PAC.
3. State Rep. Barbara Phifer, a St. Louis Democrat, outraised state Sen. Denny Hoskins, the GOP nominee, in their race for secretary of state. Phifer took in almost $102,000, while Hoskins raised $37,000 for his campaign and $33,000 for his joint fundraising committee.
4. State Treasurer Vivek Malek raised $34,075 and his PAC raised $4,350 more, while Democratic opponent Mark Osmack raised $11,501.

Ballot measures

There are six statewide ballot measures before voters this year, five constitutional amendments and a statutory change increasing the minimum wage. Total spending on all ballot measures through Sept. 30, according to the reports filed Tuesday, is $40.8 million. 

The two biggest spenders are the committee backing Amendment 2 to legalize sports wagering and the committee backing Amendment 3 to restore the right to abortion and protect other reproductive health services.

Winning for Missouri Education, backing Amendment 2, reported raising $21.6 million, with $10 million more in large donations since the start of the month. Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, backing Amendment 3, took in $21.8 through Sept. 30 and $3.8 million in large donations since.

All the money for Winning for Missouri Education comes from two donors — Draft Kings and FanDuel. While most of the funding for Missourians for Constitutional Freedom — $18 million — comes in donations of $100,000 or more from liberal groups that don’t disclose their donors, the 1,654-page report delivered Tuesday includes thousands of donations from Missourians who gave between $20 and $500.

The best-funded opposition to a ballot measure is fighting Amendment 2. Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment raised $4.2 million by mid-September and has reported $10 million in donations from Caesars Entertainment since.

Groups opposing the abortion amendment are not able to match the spending in its favor. Vote No on 3 raised $456,000 by the end of September and has collected $455,000 in large donations since.

The filings Tuesday show there was a change in the name on a campaign donation opposing Amendment 3 that The Independent tied to the family that owns the Kansas CIty Chiefs. 

A group called Leadership For America purchased a small amount of radio air time opposing Amendment 3 and donated $100,000 to Vote No on 3 after accepting a $300,000 donation from a company called Unity Hunt.

Unity Hunt owns the business properties of the late Lamar Hunt, who founded the Chiefs. In the Tuesday filing, the donation was reattributed to Lamar Hunt Jr.

The other ballot measure campaigns, and their funding, are:

1. YesOn5, which is backing Amendment 5 to allow a new casino at the Lake of the Ozarks, is funded by Bally’s Corp. and RIS, a lake-area developer, who have provided $9.4 million so far.
2. Missourians for Healthy Families and Fair Wages, supporting Proposition A to raise the minimum wage and require employers to provide paid sick leave, reported raising $4.4 million for the campaign through September. The campaign has received another $1.25 million in large donations this month.
3. The Committee to Ensure a Future for Sheriffs & Prosecutors is backing Amendment 6, to impose fees on criminal court cases to fund retirement benefits for sheriffs and prosecutors. The committee reported raising $110,425 through Sept. 30, with another $80,000 since. Those donations are $30,000 from the sheriff’s retirement fund and $50,000 from the prosecutor’s retirement fund, donations that have raised questions among lawmakers.

The only ballot measure without a committee dedicated to its passage or defeat is Amendment 7, which would ban ranked-choice voting and restate the current constitutional ban on voting by non-citizens.