Newly reported campaign finance data shows that having the most money wasn’t an automatic ticket to success at the polls
By RUDI KELLER
Missouri Independent
The top three finishers combined to spend $27.5 million in the Republican primary for governor, with the winner, Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, accounting for almost two-thirds of the total, newly filed campaign disclosure reports show.
Overall, Republicans in statewide contests spent almost $65 million, compared to just $4.8 million in the Democratic Party, where the only significant primary spending was in the race for governor, won by state Rep. Crystal Quade of Springfield.
The new reports, which cover the period from July 27 to Aug. 31, were due Thursday at the Missouri Ethics Commission. Federal candidates do not file post-primary reports.
The next reports are due Oct. 15.
Campaign finance tracking by The Independent shows that having the most money didn’t equal success in either party. It did for Kehoe and State Treasurer Vivek Malek, who spent $5.8 million from his campaign fund and joint fundraising PAC.
But David Wasinger of St. Louis, who won the primary for lieutenant governor, state Sen. Denny Hoskins, the nominee for secretary of state, and Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who fended off a challenge from Will Scharf, all won while being outspent.
In the Democratic Party, Quade defeated Springfield businessman Mike Hamra despite being outspent almost 3-1. Hamra gave his own campaign more than $2.1 million and spent $3.3 million overall, while Quade raised and spent $1.2 million through her campaign and joint fundraising PAC.
No other contested Democratic primary featured a candidate who spent more than $50,000 to win the nomination. And while some Democrats ended August with bank accounts comparable to their Republican counterparts, polls showing double-digit leads for the GOP in statewide races and the fundraising prowess shown by Republicans show the difficulties any Democrat must surmount to win in November.
The best-funded Democrats who file reports with the Missouri Ethics Commission are state Senate candidates. In five of the six districts being watched closely, Democratic candidates had more in the bank on Aug. 31 than their Republican opponents and more than any statewide candidate from either party except Kehoe.
Almost every candidate running a full-scale campaign for statewide office or the Missouri Senate has both an official campaign committee and a joint fundraising PAC. Official campaign committees are subject to contribution limits – statewide candidates can accept donations up to $2,825 – while the joint fundraising PACs can accept donations of any size.
Campaigns must observe other restrictions on donations as well. Corporations and labor unions are prohibited from contributing directly to candidate and political party committees, but may set up PACs for voluntary contributions from employees or members to do so.
Corporations and labor unions may also contribute to joint fundraising PACs and independent PACs that are allowed to contribute to candidate committees.
The $17.1 million spent by Kehoe and his joint fundraising committee, American Dream PAC, was equal to $64 for each of the 275,139 votes he received in the primary for governor. His two main rivals, state Sen. Bill Eigel and secretary of state Jay Ashcroft, spent $5.8 million and $4.6 million, respectively, which equals $25.46 per vote for Eigel and $28.15 per vote for Ashcroft.
In other races:
- Wasinger spent $2.7 million — $2.6 million of it personal funds – to defeat five other candidates. Hough spent $3.6 million. Wasinger spent just under $13 for each vote he received, while Hough’s spending equalled $18.14 per vote.
- Hoskins spent $241,768 from his campaign fund and benefited from $247,262 spent by Old Drum Conservative PAC. The best-funded candidate in the eight-way race was Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher, who spent $640,000 in campaign funds and $934,000 from his joint fundraising committee, Missouri United PAC. Hoskins spent $3.11 per vote for his primary win, while Plocher spent $18.16 per vote and came in fourth.
- Malek’s $5.8 million in spending included $1.35 million in personal funds and equaled $21.17 per vote. His best-funded opponent in the six-way primary was House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, who spent $737,266 from his campaign committee and $563,121 via the Ozark Gateway Leadership Fund. Smith spent the equivalent of $10.27 per vote and finished fourth.
- The attorney general’s race was second to the gubernatorial primary in total spending. Bailey spent $1.3 million through his campaign and his PAC, Liberty and Justice, spent $5.3 million. Scharf’s campaign spent $1.7 million, and his joint fundraising PAC, Defend Missouri, spent $7.6 million. Another PAC Scharf used for joint fundraising, Club for Growth Action, spent $1.6 million on his behalf. Bailey’s total equals $16 per vote, while Scharf’s costs equal $45 per vote.
Legislative Democrats have set a goal of breaking the GOP supermajorities that have two-thirds of the seats in the Missouri House and state Senate in Republican hands. That would require at least 55 seats in the House– three more than they have now – and 12 in the Senate – two more than their current strength.
In state Senate races for the competitive seats, Democrats avoided primaries while the GOP winners in three seats drained their campaign treasuries to win the nomination.
In five districts — the 1st and 15th in the St. Louis metropolitan area, the 11th and 17th in the Kansas City region and the 19th in Boone County — Democrats have campaign funds ranging from $550,000 to almost $1 million. No Republican in those districts ended August with more than $70,000 on hand.
In the sixth district considered competitive, the 23rd District in St. Charles County, the candidates entered September with similar amounts on hand. State Rep. Adam Schnelting of St. Charles, who won a four-way primary, had $42,762 in his campaign account and $30,962 in the account of his joint fundraising committee, Protect Our Kids PAC.
Democratic candidate Matt Williams had $40,266 on hand. Williams does not have a joint fundraising PAC.