By AP/KWMU
Jefferson City, Mo. – Plaintiffs attorneys contributed more than $350,000 to Missouri Governor Bob Holden's re-election campaign, even as state officials considered legislation imposing new restrictions on personal injury lawsuits.
The Center for Ethics and the Free Market, a conservative organization, says attorneys contributed a nearly equal amount of money to the Missouri Democratic Party from January to June.
The group's report seeks to link the contributions to Holden's veto of Republican-backed legislation that would have imposed new damages caps in medical malpractice cases. It also would have restricted where attorneys could file any sort of personal injury lawsuit.
Democratic consultant Roy Temple criticized the report as politically motivated by a Republican group that is trying to raise questions about the governor's integrity.