Court upholds party contribution limits

JEFFERSON CITY -- In a defeat for the Missouri Republican Party, a federal appeals court on Friday reversed itself and upheld the state's limits on how much political parties can give to individual candidates.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis said in its eight-page ruling that the state's limits were constitutional after previously ruling they were not.

The three-judge appeal panel heard oral arguments in the case in September after the U.S Supreme Court ordered it to reconsider the earlier decision that struck down the limits -- approved by lawmakers in 1994 -- as unconstitutional.

In August, the Supreme Court told the appeals court to reconsider opposition to the limits four days after ruling in a similar case in Colorado. In that case, the justices upheld federal limits on money that political parties can spend on candidates.

The case began when state campaign auditors found that the Missouri Republican Party overshot contribution limits in the waning days of the 1998 state elections.

The state law limits donations by parties $11,175 to candidates for statewide office, $5,600 for state Senate candidates and $2,800 for state House candidates. Contributions to candidates for other offices were limited to 10 times the maximum that individuals could donate.

Lawyers for the Missouri Republican Party had argued there was little practical difference between a political party and its candidates, and that the parties ought to be free to speak through their candidates.

Missouri attorney general Jay Nixon, arguing for the state, claimed the limits are needed to prevent corruption or the appearance of a quid pro quo when candidates accept party cash.