Saint Louis, Mo. — With an uncontested race at the top of the ticket, eyes in Missouri are focusing on local races for state senate and representative positions. As Democrats gear up for November, one way they are hoping to stem the tide of Republican electoral dominance is by rolling out their most appealing surrogate: Attorney General Chris Koster.
Koster, the hands-down favorite to win the Democratic 2016 primary for a gubernatorial bid, is making good on a promise from last year to campaign for Democratic candidates across the state and give the Democrats a much needed financial leg-up. With 18 events under his belt so far this cycle and 5 more in the next week, Koster is keeping busy stumping for Democrats.
“The General has shown great leadership by helping Democratic legislative candidates of all stripes,” Ryan Burke, general consultant for Democratic state senate candidate Jeff Roorda, told The Missouri Times.
This week, Koster will dabble in a House and Senate races; he’ll attend a fundraiser for candidate Walter Dearing in the Missouri 150th district on Wednesday before visiting Rep. Mike Colona on Thursday and attending a small private fundraiser for state senate candidate Jill Schupp on Friday. Koster’s commitment is more than just showing up for photos. Last year, Koster pledged to give at least $100 thousand every year until 2016 to the Democratic state party.
“Winning legislative races is the difference between a party that has a voice in state policy and one that does not,” Koster said at the time.
At the annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, Missouri Democratic Party Chairman Roy Temple called Koster “the next Governor of Missouri.”
“Attorney General Koster’s support for the Missouri Democratic Party is a testament to his commitment to moving Missouri forward,” Temple, said.
“It was great to have Attorney General Koster to be supportive of my fundraiser,” said Rep. Vicki Englund, a Mehlville Democrat. “He gave the audience a perspective from Jefferson City and gave them an idea of just how important it is to elect Democrats so that Republicans can’t override the governor’s vetoes.”
Englund said Koster has made good on a promise to support down-ticket candidates, something not all party leaders have done well in the past. Crystal Brinkley, Executive Director of the Missouri Democratic Party, said Koster donating was keeping his promise to the party, citing identical $100K checks 7 months apart received from his war chest.
Koster has been positioning himself as the next big thing among Democrats since his famous split from the Republican party in 2007 ahead of his run for attorney general. The former prosecutor officially announced his interest in Gov. Jay Nixon’s job back in 2012, and has since headlined Democratic events across the state.
“General Koster and Senator McCaskill recognize the dwindling influence the Democratic Party has in Jefferson City,” said Patrick Lynn, a political consultant with The Kelley Group. “This does not reflect the voter’s politics but instead reflects the absence of any real coordinated effort to win legislative seats. They are working to change that.”
Koster’s visits to local campaigns bring a little weight to fundraising events, and sometimes a check from Koster himself. And there’s money to spend. Koster is sitting comfortably on a war chest in excess of $2 million, far more than any other Democrat in the state. He’s also one of the more popular Democrats in the state, given Gov. Jay Nixon’s recent dip in the polls after the events in Ferguson and the record-breaking number of veto overrides from the legislature during their special session.
Koster only has one official opponent in 2016. Catherine Hanaway — Missouri’s first women to become Speaker of the House and a shrewd political strategist who played a key role in Republicans winning their first majority in the House in decades — announced her plans earlier this year to run on the Republican ticket. State Auditor Tom Schweich is heavily rumored to be prepping for a gubernatorial bid as well, though he is likely to remain silent on the issue until after his uncontested 2014 re-election.
Few, if any, Democrats are likely to mount serious challenges to Koster in 2016, and with plenty of Missouri Democrats producing photos this year with their arms draped around him, it is unlikely to change.
Collin Reischman was the Managing Editor for The Missouri Times, and a graduate of Webster University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.
