August 30, 2008 06:03 pm
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By Joe Hadsall
Globe columnist
U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof will have no problem beefing up his war chest against Attorney General Jay Nixon in the race for Missouri governor.
Fund-raising limits were removed Thursday, according to a new law that went into effect. A provision of the new law requires donations of more than $5,000 to be reported electronically with the Missouri Ethics Commission.
So, how much money did Missouri’s front-running gubernatorial candidates rake in during the first couple of days?
Try more than $1.2 million combined. And it was mostly Hulshof in one-day haul.
In the first day of no-limit, no-holds-barred cash gathering, Hulshof raised $1,160,556 from 22 donors who gave $5,000 or more. His donations include:
n $600,000 from the Republican Governors Association of Missouri, a political action committee based out of Washington, D.C.
n $100,000 from Jerry Hall, of Monett, who is employed by Jack Henry and Associates.
n $25,000 from Rudy Farber, of Neosho, who is employed by Community Bank and Trust.
n $20,000 from Jerry Wells, of Joplin, who is employed by Moark LLC.
n $13,300 from the Newton County Republican Central Committee.
The amount isn’t surprising, actually. Nixon and Gov. Matt Blunt quickly raised millions when the limits were removed in 2006. A Missouri Supreme Court ruling put the limits back in effect months later, so both were required to refund over-the-limit donations.
Back to Hulshof: Before the Aug. 5 primary, he was at a fund-raising disadvantage. Eight days before the election, Hulshof reported a war chest of $426,772.22, compared to Nixon’s about $2.9 million.
Hulshof had raised about $2.6 million since announcing his candidacy in January, but he spent heavily against Treasurer Sarah Steelman in a contentious race. Eight days before the primary, he reported spending more than $2.1 million.
Donors came to Hulshof’s rescue in the days before the election. According to reports filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission, Hulshof banked $273,375 between July 31 and Aug. 5. But that amount was raised while limits were still in effect.
More than $1.1 million in a day. Wow.
Nixon received some big donations, as well. A day after Hulshof’s big donations, Nixon reported donations of $121,250, including:
n $75,000 from the Hershewe Law Firm, of Joplin.
n $13,000 from Health Care Professionals for Change, of St. Louis.
n $13,000 from Centene Management Company, of St. Louis.
Without a serious competitor in the primary, and with an almost two-year advantage, Nixon had raised about $8.2 million in his quest for the governor’s office. Donors also responded for Nixon’s campaign in the days before the primary election. Between July 28 and Aug. 5, Nixon received $50,975.
In other words: With campaign-donation limits removed, Hulshof was able to gain significant ground on Nixon. Unofficial estimates put Hulshof’s war chest at about $1.9 million to Nixon’s $3 million.
Hulshof is down by only about $1.1 million. And we’ve seen what he can raise in a day.
In ’96, 70 percent of Missouri voters approved campaign donation limits, likely so that all this big cash would stay out of elections. The Republican legislators who backed the bill removing limits already gave their reasons: It’s more transparent, the limits remove loopholes, the Supreme Court views limits as a violation of First Amendment rights, etc. And Nixon’s donors can take advantage of the same system to keep their candidate ahead.
But Hulshof’s fund-raising success doesn’t do anything to quell speculation that the Republican-controlled Legislature passed a law simply to help Hulshof’s campaign.
Address correspondence to Joe Hadsall, c/o The Joplin Globe, P.O. Box 7, Joplin, Mo. 64802 or e-mail jhadsall@joplinglobe.com.
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