By Adam Allington, KWMU
St. Louis, MO. – Even though Missouri is still 16 months away from next years gubernatorial elections, candidates Matt Blunt and Jay Nixon are busy filling their campaign war chests.
And both political parties are already accusing the other of ethics violations.
Governor Blunt's second quarter campaign finance report includes dozens of contributions from individuals as well as companies who've benefited from legislation he's supported.
The Missouri Democratic Party accuses Blunt of selling contracts in exchange for campaign kickbacks.
For his part, Blunt says his administration is only trying to be a good steward of taxpayer dollars: "For any sort of work with the state, there is a competitive bid process and the state always needs to take the best bid."
The Missouri GOP has also leveled criticism against Democratic candidate Jay Nixon for accepting campaign money from Ameren, who he's investigating, as well as law firms he worked with on Missouri's portion of the national tobacco settlement.