This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Dec. 6, 2012 - Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, raised more than $16 million for his successful re-election bid Nov. 6 – and spent almost all of it – for a record-setting tally that is significantly more than he raised and spent four years ago.
Missouri’s 30-day-after reports, due Thursday, show that Nixon spent $15.5 million in his battle against Republican Dave Spence, a businessman who funded much of his campaign himself.
Four years ago, Nixon spent $9.45 million in his first contest for governor, in which he handily defeated Republican Kenny Hulshof.
The governor's spending this year appears to be the most ever by a Missouri candidate for a statewide office in Jefferson City.
Spence’s report underscores why Nixon felt compelled to spend and raise so much this time. Spence raised $11.43 million – most of it loans or donations from himself – and spent almost $10.2 million.
Nixon’s 2012 numbers highlight a commonality of each of the five statewide contests on this fall’s Missouri ballots: The biggest spender won.
For four of the five races, the one who spent the most was a Democrat.
Besides Nixon, the other victors were: state Treasurer Clint Zweifel, who defeated Republican Cole McNary; Secretary of State-elect Jason Kander, who edged out Republican Shane Schoeller; and Attorney General Chris Koster, who outspent losing Republican Ed Martin by a 3-to-1 margin.
In the race for lieutenant governor, GOP incumbent Peter Kinder outspent and defeated Democratic challenger Susan Montee.
Still, the lieutenant governor’s race was notable for another financial reason: It was by far the lowest-spending contest among Missouri’s statewide contests.
The candidates’ 30-day-after reports show that Kinder spent only $225,977 during the final days of the campaign and afterward. Montee spent only $97,144 during that same period, which includes the final eight days before the Nov. 6 vote.
Kinder spent more than three times as much as Montee overall, but most of his spending was for his nasty and expensive primary fight against state Sen. Brad Lager, R-Savannah.
Other notable tidbits from the final reports include:
- Montee raised the least of any of the Democratic statewide nominees. Her report shows that she put in $28,500 of her own money, most of it during the final days. She also received hefty last-minute donations from a friend and fellow Democrat, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, who gave $25,000 to Montee through her campaign fund and $2,500 in a personal check.
- Kander barely outspent Schoeller by only $45,000 during the final eight days of their contest. Schoeller ended his campaign with almost $60,000 remaining the bank, compared to $5,117 for Kander.
- Koster outspent Martin 4-to-1 during the last sprint of the race for attorney general. Koster still had almost $143,000 left over, while Martin reported a lean bank account of $8,475.
- Zweifel outspent McNary almost 2-to-1 during the final days of their contest. Overall, Zweifel – who had raised much of his money early -- spent more than three times McNary’s total ($1.77 million for Zweifel to $562,546 for McNary).
- Spence’s campaign is on the hook for $4.6 million in loans owned to him. He also gave the campaign at least $2 million outright.
- Nixon raised the most last-minute money of any of the candidates (excluding Spence’s self-funding). The governor also ends his campaign with far more unspent cash than any other Missouri statewide candidate: $413,395.
Here’s the financial breakdowns for all the major-party statewide candidates, in ballot order:
Governor
Nixon, D: Raised $16,124,219 ($768,312 since Oct. 30); Spent $15,512,314 ($1,870,647 since Oct. 30); $413,395 on hand.
Spence, R: Raised $11,430,350 ($1,681,192 since Oct. 30); Spent $10,194,520 ($1,775,841 since Oct. 30); $142,139 on hand. Debt: $4,601,457.
Lieutenant governor
Montee, D: Raised $1,410,160 ($97,144 since Oct. 30); Spent $894,115.67 ($142,448 since Oct. 30); $1,247.34 on hand. Debt: $505,000 (leftover from her 2006 campaign for auditor)
Kinder, R: Raised $4,764,220 ($186,407 since Oct. 30); Spent $3,022,307 ($225,977 since Oct. 30); $66,996 on hand. Debt: $821.01
Secretary of state
Kander, D: Raised $1,667,246.72 ($88,333 since Oct. 30); Spent $1,755,335.71 ($798,721.74 since Oct. 30); $5,117.48 on hand. No debt.
Schoeller, R: Raised $1,228,734.87 ($686,490 since Oct. 30); Spent $1,256,127.45 ($754,124 since Oct. 30); $59,394 on hand. Debt: $8,929.56
Treasurer
Zweifel, D: Raised $610,497 ($146,764 since Oct. 30); Spent $1,766,853 ($854,705.83 since Oct. 30); $28,427.58 on hand. No debt
McNary, R: Raised $515,311.64. ($135,165 since Oct. 30); Spent $562,546.85 ($483,247.31 since Oct. 30); $482.67 on hand. No debt
Attorney general
Koster, D: Raised $5,344,861.96 ($82,725.45 since Oct. 30); Spent $5.138,298.41, ($1,244,632.80 since Oct. 30); $142,933 on hand. No debt
Martin, R: Raised $1,788,322 ($296,147 since Oct. 30) ; Spent $1,766,361 ($310,390.97 since Oct. 30); $8,475 on hand. No debt
