JEFFERSON CITY — One of Missouri’s most prolific Republican campaign donors put another $1 million into a campaign account benefiting Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe Thursday.
The American Dream political action committee received two checks totaling $1 million from retired Ƶ financier Rex Sinquefield, putting Kehoe’s war chest over $7.4 million.
That comes after Sinquefield last year wrote checks for Kehoe, who is vying for the GOP nomination on Aug. 6 against Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and Sen. Bill Eigel of Weldon Spring.
In addition, a PAC supporting Attorney General Andrew Bailey reported a $250,000 check Wednesday from Rex and Jeanne Sinquefield. Bailey faces attorney Will Scharf, who has recently gained media attention for representing former President Donald Trump, in the Aug. 6 GOP primary.
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In the governor’s race, Kehoe has far outpaced his rivals in the fundraising department as he hopes to overcome Ashcroft’s high name recognition stemming from his father’s role as a U.S. senator and the U.S. attorney general.
Ashcroft has reported having $2.5 million spread across two campaign accounts while Eigel reported in April that he has $1.7 million.
Eigel has largely relied on small donations from across the country as part of a fundraising plan targeting supporters of former President Donald Trump.
Formal complaints alleging fundraising irregularities have been filed against both Eigel and Ashcroft.
Kehoe, a former car dealer and member of the Missouri Senate, has amassed money and backing from a number of high-profile lobby groups, including police, fire and agriculture organizations as he tries to replace the term-limited Gov. Mike Parson.
While contributions to individual candidates are capped at $2,825, donors may give unlimited amounts to PACs allied with candidates.
On the Democratic side, meantime, House Minority Leader Crystal Quade of Springfield was endorsed Thursday by Planned Parenthood.
The abortion and women’s health care provider for the Ƶ region said Quade has been a “pro-choice champion” during her tenure in the House and could help lead a ticket pushing for Missouri voters to restore access to abortion through a ballot question in November.
“I’m proud to be the pro-choice candidate in this race and as governor, I’ll continue to stand up and fight for Missourians’ reproductive freedom and their access to abortion care,” Quade said in a statement.
Also running in the Democratic Party primary for governor is businessman Mike Hamra of Springfield.