Boone County voters cast ballots Friday in Columbia during the state’s ‘no-excuse absentee’ early voting period. County Clerk Brianna Lennon said her office has averaged about 1,000 voters per day since early voting began on Tuesday. On Thursday, the House Republican Campaign Committee transferred $1.5 million to two political action committees that attack Democrats while promoting Republican candidates as independent-minded lawmakers willing to challenge their own party’s leadership. It’s one example of how campaign money is being used not just to win elections, but to influence the messages voters hear in the final days before Nov. 3. Reports for the third quarter were due last week for all candidate, ballot measure and special interest political action committees raising, spending or donating money to influence the election. Final pre-election federal reports were due Thursday; state candidates face a Monday deadline for their final reports. Tracking by The Independent shows almost $60 million has been raised since the start of 2025 for Nov. 3 ballot measure campaigns. In candidate races, $24.9 million has been collected by nominees in the eight congressional districts – almost 90% by incumbents seeking re-election. In the General Assembly, there are 17 state Senate races. The nominees and political action committees affiliated with their campaigns have raised $17 million. In the Missouri House, where all 163 districts are on the ballot, there are 34 seats with no major party contest and another 90 that are almost certain to remain with the incumbent party. In 39 districts rated by The Independent as less than safe for the incumbent party, candidates and affiliated PACs have raised $5.2 million. In the only statewide race, for auditor, incumbent Republican Scott Fitzpatrick is seeking his second term. He raised $536,286 since the start of 2025, had $484,097 on hand on Sept. 30 and spent only $7,553 since the primary on his re-election campaign. A political action committee backing Fitzpatrick, Missourians for a Responsible Budget, has raised slightly more than his campaign and had about $30,000 more on hand on Sept. 30. The only broadcast ads in the race found by The Independent’s tracking are $63,000 by Fitzpatrick’s PAC in Springfield. Quentin Wilson, the Democratic nominee, has raised just under $125,000, spent $10,506 since the primary and had $40,200 on hand on Sept. 30. The Independent has been tracking the spending, the donors behind it and the government actions they pursue. Often, ads paid for by one interest group are entirely focused on unrelated issues to defeat candidates who would oppose their goals. That happened in the August primary, when J&J Ventures of Effingham, Illinois, spent almost $100,000 through a PAC it established, Legio XIII, in the 16th District state Senate race. The ads did not mention that the targeted candidate would oppose legalizing video lottery terminals, which are central to J&J Ventures’ business. With the election less than two weeks away and early votes being cast, this article will update readers on where big donations are coming from, where the money is being spent and how it is being used to deliver campaign messages.
