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Eyes On: Grow Missouri and 2014

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Few political action committees in the state of Missouri draw quite as much attention as Grow Missouri. The reason is its surprising track record and, for some, its controversial financial backer.

Grow Missouri is largely the brainchild of Rex Sinquefield, the retired financial executive and right wing mega donor that has spent more money on Missouri politics than any other individual. The group supports fairly straightforward causes at the heart of the Republican mantra.

“A lot of the foundation of what we want to accomplish has to do with making government more efficient,” said Aaron Willard, treasurer and spokesperson for the group. “The candidates we support have a focus on growing the economy that has a basis in trying to streamline government.”

Grow Missouri is a ferocious proponent of income tax cuts and critical of “liberal” policies like Obamacare and Medicaid expansion. Grow Missouri was born last summer, thanks largely to a hefty down payment from Sinquefield. The group’s purpose was to gin up support for last year’s Republican tax cut, HB 253, which was vetoed by Gov. Jay Nixon – a Democrat.

Nixon spent much of the summer barnstorming around the state — speaking largely about massive cuts to public education that would take place as a result of the bill’s passage — while Grow Missouri coordinated perhaps the most organized response. Most of the television and radio ads, as well as ads on YouTube and Facebook that supported HB 253 were paid for by Grow Missouri.

When 15 Republicans voted with Democrats to sustain Nixon’s veto, groups in Grow Missouri’s pro-HB253 coalition vowed retribution, while Grow Missouri itself set about meeting with those that broke ranks to hammer out a compromise for the coming year.

The 15 Republicans largely remain unscathed; those with primary challenges were successful in 2014, beating back sometimes-large financial donations from groups like United 4 Missouri. While groups targeting the Republican’s voting no had a poor primary night, Grow Missouri picked winning horses across the state. With the exception of Shawn Sisco – who won his special election but lost his primary, every single candidate backed by Grow Missouri won in August.

And as the 2014 election cycle grows near and conventional wisdom leans heavily toward a good year for Republicans, Grow Missouri is no doubt looking to invest in more than a few winning candidates and reaffirm their place as a friend to Missouri Republicans. Yet another sizable check from Sinquefield last May will bankroll much of the Group’s support.

“We approach [Republicans] who didn’t agree with us and we said ‘what can we do to move forward?’” Willard said. “What is it we can actually work on and agree on and what can we get into? It’s important to have a resolution to things and our thought has always been to work toward a resolution.”

Willard confirmed the group would be closely watching several state senate races poised to draw the most attention. The right combination of wins in these races would only be an affirmation that Missouri voters tilt toward the group’s stated goals, Willard said.

“You have two races in areas that are maybe just a little Democrat leaning,” Willard said. “But it’s a very close area and it’s by no means a lock. I can tell you the race between Jay Ashcroft and Representative [Jill] Schupp for Senator Lamping’s seat will be heavily watched by us. We’ll be watching the races between Representatives Roorda and Wieland and Riddle and Schieffer as well – very heavily.”