This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Sept. 2, 2012 - Wealthy financier Rex Sinquefield is making clear that he strongly supports Republican Shane Schoeller for Missouri secretary of state by donating $250,000 on Friday to Schoeller’s campaign.
That contribution is in addition to $150,000 that Sinquefield gave to Schoeller’s campaign on June 22.
Sinquefield also gave $160,000 on Saturday to Missouri’s chapter of the Club for Growth, a national group that strongly believes in lower taxes and less government. He gave the Missouri group $500,005 in May.
Sinquefield has been particularly generous to candidates and issues so far in 2012, donating $4.2 million to causes or campaigns.
Schoeller, a state legislator from southwest Missouri, has garnered by far the most of any candidate this year favored by Sinquefield. The runner-up was state Sen. Brad Lager of Savannah, Mo., who received $385,000 from Sinquefield for his unsuccessful bid for lieutenant governor.
Sinquefield's latest donation should beef up Schoeller's campaign bank account, which showed him with just $103,149 after his successful Aug. 7 primary.
Schoeller faces Democrat Jason Kander in the fall. Kander, a legislator from Kansas City, last reported $860,012 on hand.
Sinquefield’s favorite causes, though, were two initiative petition efforts. He gave about $1.5 million to help finance the signature-collection effort for "A Safer Missouri" the group behind the November ballot proposal to give St. Louis local control over its police department.
He also spent $1.2 million on the now-scuttled effort by the group Let Voters Decide to ask Missouri voters to eliminate the state income tax and replace it with a higher sales tax.
