This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, July 15, 2013: Missouri state Auditor Tom Schweich so far has amassed $293,825 in the bank for his expected 2014 re-election bid, thanks in part to a $100,000 donation from prominent St. Louis businessman Sam Fox.
Schweich, a Republican, was among the first statewide officials to file the latest campaign reports, due Monday, which cover the three-month period ending June 30.
Schweich’s tallies are particularly noteworthy since he holds the only Missouri statewide office to be on the 2014 ballot. So far, he has no announced Democratic rival.
He reported raising $492,875 overall (including $265,765 since April 1) and spending $170,949 (only $43,870 during the last quarter). Schweich has no debts.
State Treasurer Clint Zweifel and Secretary of State Jason Kander, both Democrats facing no elections until 2016, reported raising and spending far less. Both are among statewide officials still rebuilding their bank accounts after the November 2012 election.
- Zweifel, who can’t seek re-election because of term limits, reported $82,292 in the bank. He’d raised $109,277 ($93,755 since April 1), and spent $54,990 ($19,385 since April 1).
- Kander, in his first term, reported $81,190 in the bank. He’d raised $100,821 (72,619 since April 1) and spent $21,527 ($6,287 since April 1).
Kander and Zweifel reported no debts.
Meanwhile, in other noteworthy campaign-finance filings that won’t show up in the latest reports:
- State Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia and a likely candidate for statewide office in 2016, over the weekend received a $500,000 donation from the Catherine L. Schaefer Trust. The money is apparently from a family trust.
Schaefer, chairman of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, is widely believed to be considering a run for attorney general.
His latest report, due today, showed him with $80,265.03 in the bank – but that didn’t include the $500,000 donation.
- Meanwhile, St. Louis County Councilman Steve Stenger, D-Affton, gave his campaign $100,000 of his own money. Stenger is a potential Democratic challenger to St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley, also a Democrat.
Stenger’s $100,000 infusion was made Friday and isn’t included in his newest campaign-finance report. That filing showed that the two-term councilman had raised $185,550 since April 1, spent $41,336 and had $321,016 in the bank – excluding the $100,000 donation.
