Republican candidates outstripping other parties in fund-raising

Democratic lawyer Matt Hill said he deliberately played possum during the first three months of the year with fund-raising for his challenge to incumbent state Rep. Nathan Cooper, adding that he will fill his campaign treasury soon.

Cooper, R-Cape Girardeau, will face Hill and Libertarian Party candidate George Webster III in perhaps the toughest contest for anyone trying to end Republican dominance of the Southeast Missouri legislative delegation.

Cooper raised $4,800 for his re-election bid to the 158th District seat during the first three months of the year, part of the $17,517 raised by Republican candidates for the Missouri House in contested area races. That's nearly 26 times the amount reported by Democrats in the same period. In fact, of the five Democrats seeking Republican-held seats in the area, only Michael Winder of Marquand, the Democrat challenging House Speaker Rod Jetton, R-Marble Hill, in the 156th District reported raising any money at all.

Among the other Democrats, most have filed paperwork with the Missouri Ethics Commission to form fund-raising committees but did not report collecting any money during the January to March period.

Hill, however, hasn't taken that step, but expects to soon.

Cooper is the latest in a string of Republicans to represent the city of Cape Girardeau in the Missouri House. The unbroken GOP hold on the seat dates to a time when it was one of the few legislative posts from the region held by Republicans.

During 2004, Cooper raised more than $113,000, including $53,000 in loans from his personal funds to the campaign, to win a contested primary. No Democrat filed for the seat in 2004.

Cooper's ability to fund his own campaign doesn't mean he isn't vulnerable, Hill said. "I don't think I have to raise as much as Mr. Cooper. Anyone who raises and spends $100,000 on a state legislative races is going a bit far."

Cooper wouldn't say how much he intends to spend to retain his seat. "We will raise enough money to engage in an aggressive campaign in order to ensure that the message gets out."

Cooper must explain his unwillingness to speak out strongly when Jetton sought to block state funding to pay the bonds for Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus, Hill said.

The River Campus has strong local support from voters and the business community, Hill said. "The only person who wasn't behind it was Rod Jetton and Speaker Jetton should have been taken to task by Cooper. I don't know if he was more worried about his office location in the Capitol or what."

The final result, not the political manuevering to get the money, should be the measure of his effectiveness, Cooper said. Both the House and Senate versions of spending bills for money from the sale of MOHELA assets include funding for the River Campus, Cooper noted.

"I worked with our local delegation, Sen. Crowell, Scott Lipke and Lanie Black, in an amicable fashion to make sure this project was included in the final MOHELA bill," Cooper said.

Cooper had $5,282 in the bank as of March 31, according to his report on file with the Missouri Ethics Commission.

Webster, the Libertarian candidate, filed paperwork indicating he expects to raise and spend less than $500 for the campaign.

Fund-raising during the three months ending March 31 for contested races in the area include:

* Jetton raised $6,675 for his re-election in the 156th District, which includes Bollinger, Madison and most of Wayne counties. He had $20,459 on hand on March 31. Winder raised $660 during the three-month reporting period. He had $492 on hand.

* Rep. Billy Pat Wright, R-Dexter, reported raising $100 for his re-election bid in the 159th District, which includes southwest Cape Girardeau County and most of Stoddard County. Wright had $9,720 on hand. Boyce Wooley, a Democrat from Dexter who sought the job in 2004, has not raised any money.

* Ellen Brandom, a Sikeston Republican, raised $3,917 for her bid to replace Rep. Peter Myers, R-Sikeston in the 160th District, which includes western Scott County and a small portion of Cape Girardeau County. Brandom had $22,858 in the bank. Democrat Larry Tetley of Sikeston has not raised any money.

* Gary Branum, a New Madrid Republican, raised $2,025 for his bid in the 161st Disrtrict, which includes eastern Scott County, Missisippi, New Madrid and a portion of Stoddard counties. Steve Hodges of East Prairie has not raised any money for his campaign for the seat being vacated by Rep. Lanie Black, R-Charleston.

rkeller@semissourian.com

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