MPNblog.com | Missouri Political News: Senate District 24: Total fundraising for open seat tops $875,000

Candidates in the open contest for Senate District 24 have collectively raised $879,000 during the current election cycle and have more than half a million in cash-on-hand.

The candidates include three Democrats and two Republicans vying to replace term-limited State Sen. Joan Bray (D), who represents part of St. Louis county.

Former Lt. Gov. candidate Sam Page (D) currently leads candidates from both parties with total contributions received and cash-on-hand. Page's total receipts, in fact, are more than twice his two primary challengers combined.

Here's a look at each candidate's fundraising report from the fourth quarter of 2009:

Democratic Candidate Fundraising Reports:

Sam Page (D) -- At present, Page is well positioned to dominate the Democratic primary field. Page reported receipts during the most recent fundraising period of $97,508, bringing his total fundraising for the election to $443,140. A small fraction of his total receipts came from political committees (7%) and a nearly equal share was not itemized (7%) .

Of the itemized receipts from businesses and individuals (86%), three-quarters came from donors in Missouri (some of that total included 3 in-kind contributions of $1,125 from Page). While Page reported contributions from all 7 regions of the state, an indication Page continues to tap into his support from the 2008 Lt. Gov. campaign, his strongest fundraising area was the St. Louis region which accounted for 66 percent of his in-state total.

Page's largest contribution of $5,000 was from Simmons, Browder, Giarnaris, Angelides & Barnerd LLC in Alton, Illinois. The same firm donated just shy of $40,000 to other campaigns during the last quarter.

Page reported $204,186 in disbursements during the election cycle to date, not including $1,350 in contributions to other political committees. At the end of the period Page's committee had $230,855 cash-on-hand.

Barbara Fraser (D) -- Fraser reported receipts well behind Page, totaling $30,528 in the last quarter and $137,573 total for this election cycle. A small fraction of her total was from political committees (2%) and 35 percent was not itemized, which typically means it came from fundraising events where individuals contributed less than $100 each. Of Fraser's total receipts during the last quarter, 63 percent of the itemized were from businesses and individuals, almost exclusively in the St. Louis region.

Fraser reported just $34,347 in disbursements during the election cycle so far, slightly more than Corcoran but significantly less than Page. At the end of the period, Fraser reported $105,227 cash-on-hand.

Michael Corcoran (D) -- Rep. Corcoran's fundraising is trailing both other challengers in the Democratic primary. In the most recent quarter, 86 percent of Corcoran's total contributions came from political committees (most of which were mis-coded in Corcoran's campaign finance report). Most of that total -- $10,000 -- came from the Sprinkler Fitters Local 268 in St. Louis.

Just 14 percent of his total fundraising came from businesses and individuals, and about half of that came from donors outside the state of Missouri. During the quarter, Corcoran raised less than $1,000 from businesses and individuals in the St. Louis Region.

So far this election cycle Corcoran has spent $26,801 and contributed $150 to other campaigns. At the end of 2009, Corcoran's committee reported $27,324 cash-on-hand.

Republican Candidate Fundraising Reports:

John Lamping (R) -- The cousin of former St. Louis Cardinals president Mark Lamping, is off to a good start on fundraising after two strong quarters. Lamping reported raising $131,496 during the last quarter, about $50,000 more than Page, the fundraising leader in the Democratic primary. Lamping's total receipts so far this election cycle amount to $206,500, inclusive of a $25,000 contribution from Lamping, and in addition to a $75,000 personal loan.

The single largest contribution for Lamping came from venture capitalists Tom and Kristen Roberts from Wellesley, Massachusetts, who donated $25,000.

During the quarter, about 18 percent of Lamping's reciepts came from political committees, including 7 sitting Republican state senators. 82 percent of Lamping's donations came from businesses and individuals, 58 percent of which were actually in the state of Missouri. That amount, of in-state fundraising that is, was greater than any other candidate from either party in the Senate District 24 contest. More importantly, Lamping's in-state contributions, with the exception of $100, are exclusively from the St. Louis region, indicative of broad support in the district where voters will actually be casting ballots on this position.

Dean Plocher (R) -- Plocher, a newcomer to elected politics, is off to a slow start on fundraising, pulling in just $27,690 during the most recent fundraising quarter and $35,434 so far this election cycle. Unlike all of the other candidates for this district, Plocher did not receive a dime from other political committees which means all of his support is from individuals and businesses, not other elected officials (yet). Plocher reported most of his receipts from in-state donors (92%), all of which were from the St. Louis Region.

Plocher received two contributions greater than $5,000 in the most recent quarter, from Darrell Plocher and Vince Smugala of St. Louis.

At the end of the fundraising period, Plocher reported $8,453 in disbursements and maintained $24,416 cash-on-hand.