Press "Enter" to skip to content

State Parties bank accounts play different roles in 2014

Saint Louis, Mo. — Democratic senate candidates are struggling to keep a fundraising advantage in the state’s two most competitive races as senate Republicans pour huge donations into their own efforts.

The Missouri Senate Campaign Committee, a fundraising committee for senate Republicans, is the single largest donor to Republican senate candidates Paul Wieland and Jay Ashcroft.

Ashcroft
Ashcroft

In the span of just two weeks in September, the committee simultaneously dropped more than $170,000 into the Ashcroft war chest and $159,200 into “Wieland Now.” Ashcroft has raked in more than half a million dollars from Republicans in the senate and the donations represent a significant majority of his fundraising.

Last week, Senate Republicans unloaded another $250K into the Ashcroft campaign, an injection of cash that put him ahead of the fundraising of his opponent, Jill Schupp, for the first time in the race. Wieland got an identical injection at the end of last week.

Without context, those numbers may not seem impressive. But consider their counterparts in the Democratic Party. As of Oct. 27, the party has given $105,000 to Schupp and $115,000 to Wieland’s opponent, Jeff Roorda.

The difference comes in part due to the different funding mechanisms for each party. While Missouri Republicans have fairly autonomous House and Senate committee’s dedicated to raising and distributing campaign funds, Missouri Democrats funnel their own cash into one account for the state party, which then donates to both House and Senate candidates.

Of course, Republicans also have the benefit of control of both chambers on their side, a majority that is in no danger of changing soon. For the state’s largest interests, it makes the most sense to make friends with the people writing the laws.

“I think it speaks for itself,” said Brad Green, who is running operations for the Missouri Senate Campaign Committee. “And more importantly it speaks to the generosity and confidence of the majority members of the Senate, as well as the business community, and individual Missourians who contribute to our efforts.”

While no other candidate has benefited as much as Ashcroft, Wieland has collected most of his campaign funds from party donations, a fact his opponent, Jeff Roorda, gleefully notes as a lack of his local support.

Paul Wieland
Paul Wieland

“When Jeff Roorda has a fundraiser, 50 to 60 people show up with checks because they believe in his campaign,” Roorda’s general consultant, Ryan Burke, told The Missouri Times. “When Paul Wieland has a fundraiser he has two men in dark suits from the Missouri Republican Party show up and slide 6 figure checks over to him.”

The strategy reflects a relatively effective formula employed by Senate Republicans for more than a decade. Large infusions of cash can make the difference in close elections and with no contested race at the top of the 2014 ticket and a few senate swing districts up for grabs, candidates for the upper chamber are getting a little extra financial love from their parties.

“History tells us that in close elections the person with the most money usually wins,” said Sen. Paul LeVota, a Kansas City Democrat and Chair of the Missouri Senate Democrat Project. “With that being said, both [Schupp] and [Roorda] have individually outraised their opponents hands down, which I think is a reflection of their grassroots efforts and the support they have on the ground in their districts.”