This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Oct. 8, 2012 - Rex Sinquefield is still the king of campaign donations.
The retired financer emerged as Missouri's top contributor to political candidates and causes during the current campaign season, according to an analysis of state and federal donations. From Jan. 1, 2011 to Sept. 1, 2012, Sinquefield contributed more than $6.8 million – a sum that dwarfs other major individual donors in the same time period.
Having given more than $21 million to candidates, committees and ballot initiatives since 2008, Sinquefield is far and away the most generous individual donor from the Show Me State during the analyzed time period. By comparison, the runner-up – TAMKO executive David Humphreys – has given about $4.7 million over the same time period.
(Sinquefield is a donor to the St. Louis Beacon.)
Unlike the previous two cycles in which Sinquefield primarily gave directly to candidates, most of the money in the past two years went for ballot initiatives, in particular those to eliminate the state’s income tax and to phase out state control of the St. Louis Police Department.
Besides contributing to groups such as Missouri Club for Growth, Sinquefield has donated to Republican and Democratic statewide hopefuls:
- $400,000 to GOP secretary of state nominee Shane Schoeller,
- $385,000 to failed lieutenant governor hopeful Brad Lager
- $85,000 to Democratic Attorney General Chris Koster. (Sinquefield chipped in another $250,000 for Koster’s campaign after Sept. 1. He also gave $15,000 to Koster's opponent, St. Louis attorney Ed Martin, at the end of September.)
“The agenda has not changed. You’re looking at economic freedom through simplifying the tax code and creating stronger job policies, which we know was important then and even more important now to the people of Missouri. But you also have educational freedom advancement,” said Travis Brown, a lobbyist for Sinquefield. “So those issues take place in two pathways: both in voter issues to the ballot and through the legislative arena. And that’s why you see donors like Rex Sinquefield supporting both.”
The big donations from individual Republican donors tend to neutralize the financial strength from traditional Democratic donor bases, such as organized labor or attorneys. These big donations also spark a narrative that some candidates are being “bought” and will work at the behest of wealthy donors.
Still, Democratic statewide officials such as Koster and Gov. Jay Nixon have managed to raise enough money through big donations to build a substantial advantage over their Republican opponents.
Missouri's system allowing unlimited contributions is unlikely to change any time soon. And, according to Brown, neither will Sinquefield’s largess in Missouri politics.
“I can’t speak to how long he’s going to sustain that level of support,” said Travis Brown, after discussing Sinquefield’s push to reconfigure the state’s tax code and public education. “But I can say he’s very committed to the long-term structural reform of these issues.”
The more things change...
The Beacon and the Investigative News Network analyzed data from the Missouri Ethics Commission, followthemoney.org, and OpenSecrets.org to figure out the state's biggest individual donors. The first round of data came from 2008 to 2010 and was the subject of stories this summer. The database has now been expanded to include data from Jan. 1, 2011 to Sept. 1, 2012.
In the earlier stories, the Beacon listed the top 10 individual donors, or “Power Players,” in the state. We have now expanded that list to 15. Over time, we will add more data and expand the “Power Players” list to provide greater insight into the major financial players in Missouri politics.
This round of data also includes donations that individuals made to 527s, which are third-party groups that disclose their contribution information. Such groups include the Republican Governors Association and the Democratic Governors Association.
The list does not take into account loans or contributions candidates make to their own campaigns. If it did, GOP gubernatorial nominee Dave Spence – who donated or loaned around $4 million to his candidacy – would almost certainly make the list.
Among the most striking findings are:
- Sinquefield’s status as top donor was largely attributable to his contributions to ballot initiatives. For instance, he gave nearly $2,524,000 to Let Voters Decide, which supports eliminating Missouri’s income tax and replacing it with a beefed-up sales tax. He also gave $1,485,000 to a committee working to end state control of the St. Louis Police Department. The income tax initiative won’t be on the ballot this year, but the “local control” measure will be.
While Sinquefield continued to give to individual candidates, he also gave $660,005 to the Missouri Club for Growth, which supports Republican state House and state Senate candidates in competitive races.
This year, Sinquefield also gave big donations to Lager, Schoeller and Koster. He’s also given $5,000 to the two candidates for state treasurer: incumbent state Treasurer Clint Zweifel, a Democrat, and state Rep. Cole McNary, R-Chesterfield. After the time period analyzed, he also gave money to Martin.
- The Humphreys family, which runs Joplin-based TAMKO, continued to give exclusively to Republican candidates and causes. David Humphreys, the company’s CEO, gave over $2.2 million from Jan 1, 2011, to Sept. 1, 2012, while TAMKO chairman Ethelmae Humphreys gave $385,000. The total from the Humphreys clan would be even higher if donations from Sarah Humphreys Atkins, David Humphreys’ sister in Virginia, were included.
The Humphreys family has had mixed success: For instance, Lager lost his primary bid to dislodge Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder. And it remains to be seen whether GOP attorney general nominee Ed Martin – who received $250,000 from David Humphreys – will defeat Koster.
- Some donors who gave big sums of money from 2008 to 2010 to a political action committee to protect stem cell research gave considerably less during the present election cycle. As a result, some past top donors, such as William Danforth, James and Virginia Stowers, John McDonnell and James McDonnell III, slid down the “Power Players” list of top donors.
Only Sam Fox, the former ambassador to Belgium and founder of the Harbour Group, continued to give at a similar pace. And his wife Marilyn also gave enough to make the top 15.
- Six people on the list have given more than $1 million from the beginning of 2008 to Sept. 1 of this year. Four – Sinquefield, David Humphreys, Sam Fox and Ethelmae Humphreys – gave primarily to Republicans, while Danforth and the Stowerses also gave to Democrats.
- Of the 15 people on the list, nine gave primarily to Republicans. Two – Kenneth McClain and James Nutter, Sr. – gave almost exclusively to Democrats. And the rest gave to both parties.
In fact, David Steward, the chairman and founder of World Wide Technology, was something of an oddity. He gave almost evenly to both parties: 68 donations for Democrats, 66 contributions to Republicans. No other person on the list gave to both parties in such an evenhanded manner. The amounts donated were also relatively equal: $285,350 to Democrats and $249,200 to Republicans.
The predominance of GOP-leaning donors can make it more difficult for state Democrats to keep up, especially in legislative contests.
For instance: The state House Democratic Campaign Committee has $131,409.95 as of the latest campaign finance report. By comparison, Sinquefield recently gave Missouri Club for Growth's PAC $160,000 – money that will likely go to Republican state House and Senate candidates. That doesn't even take into account the $1.22 million that the House Republican Campaign Committee has at its disposal.
“Let’s just be honest: We’re Democrats and we’re used to being at a money disadvantage,” said state Rep. Jake Hummel, a St. Louis Democrat who co-chairs the HDCC. “We’re not necessarily the party of the wealthy. And so we’ve always had that problem. Of course, it’s always more difficult with less money.”
One exception is Democratic statewide officials. Nixon and Koster have built huge cash advantages, thanks to big donations. Nixon has taken $3.79 million in donations of $5,000 or more during 2012 through the end of September. That includes $1,525,000 from the Democratic Governors Association.
Koster has taken in $1.9 million in donations of $5,000 or more in 2012, more than what Martin has in the bank.
Interestingly, Nixon has advocated for campaign finance limits for years – even pointing to his role in a U.S. Supreme Court case that made contribution limits legal for state contests. He has also said that he is not going to disarm unilaterally in an environment of unlimited contributions.
Highest bidder?
Missouri is one of a few states without limits on campaign donations. That has raised the question of whether candidates who receive such big donations will be beholden to their biggest benefactors.
At least that's the impression some candidates are trying to create. For example, soon after Schoeller received $250,000 from Sinquefield, the campaign manager of his opponent, state Rep. Jason Kander, D-Kansas City, sent out a fundraising appeal claiming that the Republican “decided to sell the secretary of state’s office.”
“Rex Sinquefield needs a secretary of state who will write ballot language as he desires,” Kander's campaign manager Abe Rakov said in the appeal. “By taking these massive amounts of money from one source, Schoeller has signaled to everyone that what Rex Sinquefield wants is more important to him than the interests of everyday Missourians.”
Democrats aren't the only ones to make such charges. When he was running for lieutenant governor earlier this year, Lager's opponents criticized the fact that most of Lager's money came from a small circle of donors: Sinquefield, the Humphreys family and Stanley Herzog’s company.
Lager also took $100,000 from Jeanne Patterson, the wife of Cerner CEO Neal Patterson. And Lager’s employment at Cerner became a source of criticism during the campaign.
Former state Rep. Ed Emery, R-Lamar, who won a heated August primary for a state Senate seat, took big donations from several of the Humphreys family. He also received assistance from the Missouri Club for Growth, resources that helped him defeat state Rep. Scott Largent, R-Clinton.
But in an interview earlier this summer, Emery said that policy issues were never discussed when he received money from the Humphreys.
“Now David had worked with me on some issues in the past, so he knows where I am on some issues,” Emery said. “Those are donations because those people trust me in government. And they wanted to see me able to serve again. Club for Growth, again we didn’t discuss any issues, but they know where I am on tax policies. I’ve been fighting for certain tax policies in the House, even before they adopted some of them.
"Their view is they like the way I think in terms of what would make Missouri more prosperous, what would empower citizens, what would empower government,” he added.
For his part, Lager told the Beacon during primary season that “he is actually honored that entrepreneurs – people who have built successful companies and big companies – are supporting me.”
“They’re supporting me for two reasons,” Lager said. “One, in most of those cases it’s all about personal relationships. … They know who I am and what I believe. And they’re friends with my family. Stephanie and I and my kids know them. It’s just personal relationships, too. But it’s also that they understand the type of principles that I represent and I support in government is what has allowed them to build their companies.”
For his part, Sinquefield's lobbyist Brown said every dollar his boss “contributes for political action is a dollar advanced because he tends to agree with those that he sees moving up the leadership curve, whether they’re Democrat or Republican.”
“In terms of volume and intensity of any individual support, you have to look at the totality as you’ve done balancing both sides of the political spectrum,” Brown said. “In totality, you have trade unions and teachers unions that spend money very different. And they report and disclose money very differently. So on the issues you have, you have to look at that in context. When you do that, you find that even a large donor much larger the average contributor has a lot of competition.”
An unlimited future?
Missouri removed limits on campaign donations in 2008. Since then, it’s become commonplace for individuals and organizations to make huge contributions to campaigns.
According to the National Association of State Legislatures, only Oregon, Iowa, Utah and Virginia have no limits on any political contributions. Other states – such as Alabama, Indiana, Nebraska and Mississippi – don’t have limits for donations directly to candidates but restrict other donations. That could include caps or prohibitions on donations from corporations or labor unions.
Some Democrats have attempted to re-establish limits either through legislation or initiative petition. Like many in his party, Hummel supports such a move.
“Until you have real ethics reform that includes contribution limits that the voter has approved, you’re going to have this perception – and rightfully so – that government is controlled by a few special interests and very wealthy rich donors. I think we see that all the time,” he said.
But barring a successful initiative petition effort, which would conceivably cost millions of dollars, the unlimited system is likely to stay in place. Republicans have solid majorities in both legislative chambers and are expected to keep control for the foreseeable future.
And even if limits were somehow put back in place, Hummel said, lawmakers would have to find a way to stop individuals or organizations from funneling contributions through a maze of outside committees.
Power Players list
1. Rex Sinquefield, retired financier, $21,541,330
2. David Humphreys, president and CEO of TAMKO Building Products, Inc, $4,707,825
3. Sam Fox, founder of the Harbour Group, $1,400,287
4. Virginia Stowers, founder of American Century Investments, $1,326,398
5. William Danforth, chancellor emeritus, Washington University, $1,161,483
6. Ethelmae Humphreys, TAMKO's chairman of the board, $1,051,675
7. Stanley Herzog, Herzog Cos. Inc., $783,075
8. James B. Nutter Sr., Founder and Owner of James B. Nutter and Company, $732,860
9. John McDonnell, former chairman and CEO of McDonnell Douglas, $685,733
10. Roy Pfautch, international public affairs consultant, $665,400
11. Jerry Hall, executive vice president of Jack Henry and Associates, $633,450
12. Kenneth McClain, attorney, $595,205
13. Marilyn Fox, philanthropist and wife of Sam Fox, $584,925
14. James McDonnell III, retired, $573,550
15. David Steward, owner and founder of World Wide Technology, $564,550
And here are the top five donors from 2011 to Sept. 1, 2012:
1. Rex Sinqufield: $6,832,640
2. David Humphreys: $2,296,200
3. Sam Fox: $801,500
4. August Busch III: $409,600
5. Ethelmae Humphreys: $385,800
