Dem AG primary Wrap-Up: Money Matters

Don't let anyone tell you money doesn't matter in politics, because it does. This year's Democratic Attorney General primary is perhaps one of the finest examples of the effect money can have on election outcomes even more so than policy papers and gender.

Take for instance the fact that Chris Koster raised $1 million more than his opponents. Or the fact that he spent $1 million more than his opponents. Koster proved that money sells a candidate and buys votes (not to mention a few endorsements).

MPN's analysis of campaign finance records from the Missouri Ethics Commission (8 day before election reports) and election results from the Secretary of State's website produce an interesting finding: Koster spent more money per vote received than any other statewide candidate on the ballot. That includes both Kenny Hulshof and Sarah Steelman in the hotly contested Republican gubernatorial primary.

Koster's $16.33 spent for every vote received was comparable only to Jay Nixon who faced no serious opposition but spent $14.12 mostly on general election items.

Koster's opponents didn't even come close to matching his expenditures. Margaret Donnelly reported spending $988,000 one week before the election and had $8.38 spent per voter when all was said and done (or almost done). Jeff Harris spent $749,000 total and $8.65 for every vote received.

The average outflow among statewide candidates was just $6.56 per voter, skewed downward by the Lt. Gov., Treasurer, and Secretary of State races.

So in the end the candidate who raised and spent the most money won this race, but barely. Donnelly came in a very close second and while the recount results are not yet official, we can expect the final results to remain the same.

The result isn't unexpected since we saw the same outcome in every other contested statewide race, regardless of political party.

What have we learned? It doesn't matter where your money comes from or even how you get it. All that matters is how much money you have.

If this remains true in the future, the next 60 some days will be very interesting under Missouri's new campaign finance system that holds no limits for candidates. None except for the sky.

Editor's Note: The analysis conducted for this story relied on unofficial election results from the Missouri Secretary of State's office. All campaign finance data was obtained from the Missouri Ethics Commission using reports filed 8 days before the primary election, the last complete report submitted with receipts and outflows prior to the election.

Related Links:
MPN Campaign Finance Analysis

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