INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Republican leaders in Missouri are throwing their support – and money – behind former state representative Brent Lasater via a political action committee targeting the district.
Lasater, R-Independence, is seeking the senate seat for District 11 this election, and recent contributions look to propel him into the seat.
Those contributions, all donated within the month, to the Kansas City Missouri Republican Senate PAC add up to $250,000.
Three donations of $50,000 each came from Citizens for Jay Wasson, Citizens to Elect Mike Kehoe, and southwest Missouri millionaire and political activist David Humphreys.
Humphrey’s donation came in late September, while the other two were made on Otober 22nd and 23rd, respectively.
The fourth and largest contribution comes from the Committee to Elect Ron Richard, which donated $100,000 on October 22nd.
The Kansas City Missouri Republican Senate PAC was created on September 12th, and lists Ron Richard as the treasurer.
Lasater’s Democratic opponent in the District 11 Senate race says this is why he supports limiting campaign contributions.
“This is just a typical case of why we need to look at campaign finance,” Rep. John Rizzo, D-Kansas City, said. “It allows one or two people to have a much bigger megaphone than the majority of people. It allows millionaires and billionaires to circumvent the process, so to speak, and outweigh the voters.”
Lasater responded to Rizzo’s statement in a Facebook message, saying:
Benjamin Peters was a reporter for The Missouri Times and Missouri Times Magazine and also produced the #MoLeg Podcast. He joined The Missouri Times in 2016 after working as a sports editor and TV news producer in mid-Missouri. Benjamin is a graduate of Missouri State University in Springfield.