Blunt, Nixon will refund money

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Matt Blunt and Attorney General Jay Nixon both say they will refund the money they received above Missouri's campaign-contribution limits.

Their announcements will mean a multi-million-dollar subtraction from their campaign accounts for the 2008 governor's race.

A law that took effect in January had repealed Missouri's campaign-contribution limits. But the Missouri Supreme Court reinstated the limits this summer and directed the Ethics Commission to enforce its ruling.

The Ethics Commission had given candidates a Monday deadline to decided whether to refund the excess contributions or seek an exemption on grounds that returning the money posed a hardship.

Blunt will have to return nearly $4.5 million. Nixon will have to give back more than $1.3 million.