Chris Koster camp accepts endorsement it never got; contributes to multiple endorsers

Chris Koster's Attorney General campaign announced last Friday it had been endorsed by La Raza ("the race"), a national group that raises attention to poverty and social issues among Hispanics. The problem - the National Council of La Raza does not endorse political candidates.

The endorsement was falsely reported by the Kansas City Star, for which a reporter today issued an apology. The group that actually backed Koster was a Kansas City-based political fund also called La Raza, but not affiliated with the national organization.

Here's what the Star didn't catch: on July 14th, Koster donated $3,500 to the La Raza political committee.

And this is not the first instance of Koster contributing large sums in exchange for endorsements.

Last month Koster announced the endorsement of Democratic St. Louis Congressman William Clay. While no contribution was made directly to Clay's campaign fund, Koster did make a $15,000 payment to a firm started by Clay's Chief of Staff Darryl Piggee.

Today, Koster's campaign announced the endorsement of Freedom Inc. Also on June 15th Koster's campaign contributed $1,000 to that group.

Related Links:
Koster campaign press release: La Raza endorsement
Koster campaign press release: Freedom Inc endorsement

Related Stories:
KC Star: Nationally known La Raza did not endorse Koster