This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Jan. 18, 2012 - A southwestern Missouri legislator -- House Speaker Pro Tem Shane Schoeller, R-Willard -- bested his two Republican rivals in the latest GOP financial jockeying for Missouri's open spot for secretary of state. But a rival, state Sen. Bill Stouffer, R-Napton, still holds an overall edge in the bank.
Schoeller is competing against Stouffer and state Sen. Scott Rupp, R-Wentzville, for the statewide office currently held by Secretary of State Robin Carnahan.
Carnahan, a Democrat, is not running for re-election.
Schoeller ended up taking in the most money during the final quarter of 2011, according to documents filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission. He ended up raising $101,355 and spending $11,821 during 2011's fourth quarter, leaving him with $127,870.68 of cash onhand. Click here for his report.)
Still, Stouffer remains the candidate with the most money in the bank. Even though Stouffer only raised $11,025 during the quarter, he poured $75,000 of his own money into the campaign. Overall, Stouffer has provided $224,325 of his own money to the race, and reported $244,983.39 in cash on hand. (Click here for his report.)
Rupp ended up raising $66,493 during the fundraising quarter. After spending $26,049.27, he has $136,764 of cash on hand. (Click here for his report.)
State Rep. Jason Kander -- the only Democrat running for secretary of state -- announced his fundraising totals last week .
The Kansas City attorney raised $232,029 during the same time period, more than any of the three Republican aspirants. He has $442,091.65 of cash on hand.
And, for the moment, no Democratic rival.
