JEFFERSON CITY — A Ƶ County Republican has given his campaign a fortune in his effort to win the Aug. 6 GOP primary for lieutenant governor.
David Wasinger, a CPA and lawyer from Huntleigh, cut a $1 million check to his election effort on Monday, adding to the $1.6 million he had already given his campaign since February.
Wasinger is one of five candidates seeking the Republican nomination in the Aug. 6 primary. The others are state Sens. Lincoln Hough, of Springfield, and Holly Rehder, of Scott City; Paul Berry III, of Maryland Heights; and Franklin County Clerk Tim Baker.
A sixth Republican, Ƶ businessman Matthew Porter, announced this month he was suspending his campaign.
Michael Hafner, a spokesman for Wasinger, said Tuesday that Wasinger “is all in to win,” adding that “he will crush the special interest swamp that is running Missouri and is looking forward to getting big wins for conservatives.”
People are also reading…
Wasinger lost to Saundra McDowell in the 2018 Republican primary for Missouri auditor. McDowell eventually lost to former Auditor Nicole Galloway in the general election.
Of the $2.6 million Wasinger has given his campaign for this election, it’s unclear how much he will end up spending.
A fundraising report filed Monday showed Wasinger’s campaign spent about $478,000 in the quarter ending June 30. He was left with nearly $1.3 million heading into the last full month before the election.
Meanwhile, a political action committee supporting Hough spent over $1.3 million in the fundraising quarter ending June 30, and his PAC had more than $639,000 heading into the last full month of the primary. The group also raised more than $724,000 last quarter.
Hough’s campaign account had nearly $520,000 on hand after raising over $231,000 and spending nearly $89,000 last quarter.
Rehder’s Southern Drawl PAC, meanwhile, spent over $31,000 last quarter, raised about $53,000 and entered the final stretch with over $286,000 on hand.
Her traditional campaign account ended June with $339,000 on hand after raising nearly $70,000 and spending about $34,000 last quarter.
Baker entered the final stretch with about $2,900 on hand, spending more than $8,000 last quarter and raising about $5,600 in that time.
Berry as of Tuesday hadn’t reported figures for the previous two fundraising quarters.
Wasinger has landed the endorsement of the anti-abortion Missouri Right to Life in the race while Hough has secured the backing of other interest groups such as the Missouri Farm Bureau and Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The winner of the Republican primary will face the winner of the Democratic primary in the Nov. 5 general election.
Democratic state Rep. Richard Brown, of Kansas City, faces Anastasia Syes, of Ƶ, in that contest. Libertarian Ken Iverson, of Lake Saint Louis, is also running.