This primary was very late to develop. The Republicans worked for the better part of two years to find a candidate to replace retiring Senator John Lamping, who won an upset victory in 2010. Several party leaders approached West County attorney Jack Spooner who agreed to run relatively late in the cycle, and the race seemed to be on a path for a similar race to the Lamping/Fraser matchup of 2010.
On the last day of filing, John “Jay” Ashcroft, the son of Missouri Republican icon John Ashcroft, filed and the race changed. The Ashcroft camp is pretty clear that a primary race in a county that has a heated Democratic primary for county executive is one they can’t lose. The Spooner camp points to two recent Democratic primaries in Steve Eagleton and Russ Carnahan as examples that a famous name alone will not carry you across the finish line.
Whoever is successful in August will face a very tough general election against Rep. Jill Schupp who has no primary and is an accomplished campaigner in a 53% Democratic district. Robb Hicks is also running but appears at this point does not appear to have a campaign operation on par with Ashcroft or Spooner.
Jack Spooner
Raised: $111,349
Loans: $12,500
COH: $114,574
Consultant: Barklage and Knodell
Website: www.spoonerforsenate.com
Notes: Spooner is an attorney who stresses the fact he has lived in the district his entire life. He also is quick to point out that he feels that he would be a better general election candidate than Ashcroft. Spooner will have an advantage of being a member of the Catholic Church, which Lamping was able to use to great affect in 2010. Spooner also has Barklage and Knodell who have a great record in Senate primaries.
Spooner’s team is quick to remind people of the Jeff Smith primary challenge to Russ Carnahan and the Steve Eagleton loss to James Trout, who would later be upset by conservative state Senator Eric Schmitt. Spooner’s team also likes to remind folks that name recognition may not be enough to win on its own.
Jay Ashcroft
Raised: Six greater than $5,000 reports were filed totaling $65,000.
COH: No report filed yet.
Consultant: Victory Enterprises
Website: ashcroftforsenate.com
Notes: The simple fact is he is the son of the former Governor, U.S. Senator, and Attorney General of the United States of America, who was the most conservative successful Missouri politician in the last 20 years.
Further, he has nearly every major Republican political figure in the state backing him, as well as donors such as Sam Fox and Rex Sinquefield. As a testament to his fundraising ability he held a $75,000 fundraiser in Springfield a few weeks after filing. He is an attorney at The Ashcroft Law Firm located in Clayton, and the father of two. The campaign organization of Victory Enterprises is already in full swing as he has been knocking on doors for the past several weeks.
