PACs, man

Daniel Desrochers

Outside money is pouring into the U.S. Senate race for Missouri, as the country watches to see who will be nominated in the Aug. 2 primary.

There’s always a pretty obvious place for that money to go, particularly if a rich person wants to donate more than is allowed to a single campaign — political action committees. These are the groups largely funding attack ads in the state, with vague names that evoke Missouri and its “Show Me State” nickname.

Looking at how the PACs spend their money can tell you a little bit about the race. For example, U.S. Rep. Billy Long hasn’t gotten any support from his PAC since May, even as the other PACs have picked up their spending with just a few weeks before the primary.

The attacks are also limited to just former Gov. Eric Greitens, U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt. Until the Show Me Values PAC was created in June, there was just $73,950 spent against Greitens and it all came from Schmitt’s PAC. Now more than $3 million has been spent attacking the former governor.

Schmitt has faced $1.3 million in attacks, but has gotten more than $1.6 million in support. Hartzler has gotten more than $2 million in attacks from Schmitt and Greitens but has gotten little support from the PAC supporting her, which was more focused on Katie Britt in Alabama until the recent filing period.

Two quick caveats.

One: I’m focusing largely on the PACs that are set up to support an individual candidate. That means I’m not including PACs like Vote Vets, which has spent about $7,500 on Democrat Lucas Kunce, or the Americans for Prosperity PAC, which has spent $2.4 million for former Attorney General Eric Schmitt.

Two: The Federal Elections Commission site only tells us so much. There are other pacs I may not be aware of and there are ways the pacs spend money to boost a campaign that are harder to track than the standard independent expenditure reports they have to file with the FEC. Money in politics is particularly messy in this era and its difficult for regulators (and journalists) to keep track of where it’s all coming from and where it’s all going.

Missouri First Action

  • Who it’s supporting: Eric Greitens

  • Who it’s attacking: None

  • Who behind it: Andrew Frisella, fitness influencer, $1 million; Bernie Marcus, co-founder of Home Depot, $1 million; Bryan Bradford, investment banker, $50,000; James Liautaud, founder of Jimmy Johns, $20,000

  • How much has it spent: $1,497,767 through July 13.

Team PAC

  • Who it’s supporting: Eric Greitens

  • Who it’s attacking: Eric Schmitt ($1,334,769), Vicky Hartzler ($1,012,514)

  • Who’s behind it: Richard Uihlein, Schlitz brewing heir, $2.5 million

  • How much has it spent: $2,347,283 through July 9.

Missouri Stands United

  • Who it’s supporting: John Wood

  • Who it’s attacking: None

  • Who’s behind it: Undisclosed. The committee has not yet filed a report showing its donors. It is led by former U.S. Sen. John Danforth.

  • How much has it spent: $866,799 through July 7.

Save Missouri Values

  • Who it’s supporting: Eric Schmitt

  • Who it’s attacking: Vicky Hartzler ($1,473,801), Eric Greitens ($73,950)

  • Who’s behind it: Several donors through April 2022. Donors over $100K include: Mike and Carolyn Rayner, Retired, $325,000; Rex Sinquefield, investor, $1.5 million; Stephen Wynn, casino magnate, $250,000; John Odom, HMH Construction, $100,000; Julia Kauffman, Muriel, McBrien Kauffman Family Foundation, $494,200; August Busch III, Busch Brewing Heir, $250,000; Jeffrey Fox, CEO of Harbour Group, $100,000; David, Pauline and Warren Keinath, retired, $350,000; Peter Theil, co-founder of PayPal, $250,000.

  • How much has it spent: $3,185,587.60

Secure our Freedom Action Fund

  • Who it’s supporting: Vicky Hartzler

  • Who it’s attacking: None

  • Who’s behind it: Several donors, none above $100,000 through April 2022.

  • How much has it spent: $202,609

  • Note: This PAC also backed Katie Britt in Alabama

Show Me Values

  • Who it’s supporting: None

  • Who it’s attacking: Eric Greitens

  • Who’s behind it: Undisclosed. The committee has not yet filed a report showing its donors. The PAC is run by Johnny DiStefano, who used to work for Trump. Rex Sinquefield has donated to the PAC, according to DiStefano.

  • How much has it spent: $3,795,565

WinMO PAC

  • Who it’s supporting: Billy Long

  • Who it’s attacking: None

  • Who’s behind it: Several donors. Donors over $100K include: Prime, Inc, Trucking Company, $100,000;

  • How much has it spent: $280,000

More from Missouri

Two hard-right political newcomers are trying to unseat state Sen. Mike Cierpiot, a Lee’s Summit Republican who has aligned with leadership in the divided upper chamber. The race symbolizes a larger movement in politics, as lawmakers who are seen as too “moderate” get targeted by the more partisan edges of their party, contributing to fractured legislative chambers.

Here are headlines from across the state:

And across Kansas

Panasonic, the technology company based in Japan, has chosen Kansas for its $4 billion mega battery factory. The investment comes after the Kansas Legislature signed off on a large tax break intended to lure the company to the state. The batteries will be used for the growing electric vehicle industry.

The latest from Kansas City

In Kansas City …

Have a news tip? Send it along to ddesrochers@kcstar.com

Odds and ends

Sharice Davids fundraising

U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids’ campaign announced that it raised more than $1 million between April and June. While the campaign has not officially filed its report yet, it said she has $3.4 million on hand, and has raised the most she has ever raised.

Her campaign will need it. Davids faces a tough re-election bid in a year where Republicans are favored because of high gas prices and inflation. While Davids has attempted to sign on to bills to relieve some of the pressure, those legislative efforts have been unable to pass a Congress where Democrats have a narrow majority. Adding to her challenge is a new district, where more Republican-leaning voters were added and Democratic-leaning voters were drawn out.

Politico ranked Johnson County as one of 20 counties across the country that will decide which party holds Congress after the midterm election.

“With a newly drawn district, our team is only growing in size and support,” Davids said in a press release. “I’m grateful for the continued grassroots energy in this campaign, and look forward to making progress on the issues that matter to our community, from lowering costs on gas and groceries to making health care more affordable.”

Davids’ likely opponent, Amanda Adkins, has not released her fundraising totals yet. Federal campaign finance reports are due today, which means they’ll be coming in through the night.

Votes from the floor

U.S. Rep. Billy long called out his colleague U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler as she campaigned across Missouri this week. Long was in Washington where the House of Representatives voted on bills like the PACT Act, which provides enhanced health benefits for veterans who were exposed to toxic burn pits and a bill that would create an “Amber Alert” style system for when there’s an active shooter in a community (the Republicans in Missouri’s delegation voted against the bill).

Hartzler voted on the bills but was only able to do so because of a pandemic-era created rule that allows members to vote “by proxy.” Basically, they can have a different member of the House of Representatives vote for them. The rule was established so members could still vote on bills while they were sick or isolating because of COVID-19, but has been widely used to give members more flexibility for how much time they’re spending in Washington, D.C.

Susan Sarandon calls Trudy Busch Valentine a TERF

Susan Sarandon, of “Bull Durham” and “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” fame, weighed in on the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. in Missouri.

On Thursday night she tweeted a video of Busch Valentine talking to a group of voters, where she gives a clumsy answer about transgender rights.

“A woman is a woman, but in this transgender thing, that’s a different issue and that’s an issue that people have to come to on their own,” Busch Valentine says in the video. “They need the guidance of parents, they need doctors intervention. I don’t think anything should be done until their adults that lasts forever.”

Sarandon wrote “Tired of the vote blue no matter who when there’s a billionaire heiress Democrat like Trudy Busch Valentine running as a TERF.”

TERF is an acronym that stands for trans-exclusionary radical feminist. In other words, someone who identifies as a feminist but excludes transgender women from the push for women’s rights.

Busch Valentine’s campaign said she is not a TERF and pointed out that in the rest of her answer, she expressed support for the LGBTQ community.

“Of course Trudy believes that every person, regardless of their gender or any other factor, deserves to be safe and treated with dignity and respect,” said Alex Witt, Busch Valentine’s campaign manager. “...The last thing they need is disingenuous politicians like Josh Hawley denying them their basic human rights. That’s why in the U.S. Senate, she will be a steadfast champion for LGBTQ equality and justice, and will cosponsor the Equality Act.”

While there have been many high profile cases of feminists excluding trans women —”Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling has faced significant backlash for her comments about transgender people— the issue has come up again in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned a constitutional right to an abortion.

Busch Valentine’s statement comes in a moment where LGBTQ rights activists are sensitive to any language denying the existence of transgender people, given a widespread push among conservatives to pass laws limiting transgender rights.

On Tuesday, Khiara Bridges, a law professor at the University of California at Berekely told U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley that his line of questioning was “transphobic” when he attempted to highlight the fact that she was using the phrase “people with a capacity for pregnancy.”

“Many women, cis women, have the capacity for pregnancy,” Bridges responded. “Many cis women do not have the capacity for pregnancy. There are also trans men who are capable of pregnancy as well as nonbinary people who are capable of pregnancy.”

Happy Friday

Read about this Italian town where seven of it’s 1,780 residents are older than 100. Pretend you’re British and have a Pimm’s Cup. Listen to this catchy song by band Wet Leg.

Enjoy your weekend.

Daniel Desrochers is the Star’s Washington, D.C. Correspondent
Daniel Desrochers is the Star’s Washington, D.C. Correspondent

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