News Briefs

Donors pour $4.6 million into Missouri attorney general GOP primary in final weeks

By: - July 26, 2024 1:36 pm

Will Scharf, left, is facing off with Andrew Bailey in the GOP primary for Missouri Attorney General (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent).

A trio of political action committees supporting either Andrew Bailey or Will Scharf in the Republican primary for Missouri attorney general have raised $4.6 million in large donations this month.

The money has translated into an onslaught of TV ads, mailers and text messages from both sides hoping to win the GOP nomination in a state that hasn’t elected a Democrat to statewide office since 2018. 

Voters head to the polls on Aug. 6, though no-excuse early voting has already opened. 

Bailey, who was appointed attorney general by Gov. Mike Parson in 2022 and is seeking a full term, is being supported by Liberty and Justice PAC. 

It raised $1.9 million in large donations this month — checks of more than $5,000 that must be immediately reported. 

Most of that money came from Rex and Jeanie Sinquefield, Missouri’s most prolific political donors, who have given the PAC more than $1 million in recent weeks. Another $500,000 came from the Kansas law firm of Michael Ketchmark. 

So far this year, Liberty and Justice PAC has taken in $3.5 million in large donations. 

Scharf, a former assistant U.S. attorney, is being supported by two PACs — Defend Missouri and Club for Growth Action. 

Most of Defend Missouri’s money has come from Club for Growth Action, though it did receive a $1.1 million donation this week from the Concord Fund — an advocacy organization bankrolled by groups connected to conservative activist Leonard Leo.

Club for Growth Action has raised $1.9 million this month, with $1.3 million of that coming from its federal PAC and $250,000 coming from Scharf’s father. 

So far this year, Club for Growth has taken in $7.6 million in large donations. 

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Jason Hancock
Jason Hancock

Jason Hancock has spent two decades covering politics and policy for news organizations across the Midwest, with most of that time focused on the Missouri statehouse as a reporter for The Kansas City Star. A three-time National Headliner Award winner, he helped launch The Missouri Independent in October 2020.

Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

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