Wallingford outraises Brandom in final weeks before primary

In just more than a three-week period, Missouri Senate hopeful Wayne Wallingford has watched his campaign coffers swell by more than $61,000, outpacing opponent Ellen Brandom by a 4-to-1 margin, with the Cape Girardeau Republican drawing support from a list of names that include some of the area's most well known and influential.

Even with the recent fundraising, he trails Brandom's total raised by a large margin.

With the primary election looming less than a week away, Wallingford said he was more than ecstatic with the fundraising results, especially considering his campaign began in January with $4,000 compared to Brandom's $200,000. Both are members of the Missouri House who are looking to claim the six-county 27th District Senate seat being vacated by Jason Crowell.

Ellen Brandom

"The groundswell of support here in the district has just been amazing," Wallingford said. "I am so humbled by the people who offer their services to my campaign -- whether it's by volunteering or by donating their hard-earned dollars."

Wallingford's total receipts stood at $242,453 as of the filing's July 26 closing period. While it's an amount that impresses some, it doesn't appear that it will top Brandom, the Sikeston-area representative who began campaigning more than a year ago and served in the House three times as long.

From July 1 to 26, Brandom collected $15,470, but her total election receipts totaled $401,079. She also had a significantly greater amount of cash on hand, with $33,000 left compared to Wallingford's $4,500, which could allow her more flexibility in the last few days of the campaign.

For her part, Brandom -- who announced her candidacy more than a year ago -- said she was not worried about how much her opponent raised in the last month of the election.

"That's the main reason I worked to raise money early on -- so that I didn't have to spend the last few weeks worrying about it and I could concentrate on meeting with the voters," Brandom said.

Wallingford tallied a total of 37 contributions over the same period from a list of 22 individuals, three Republican campaign committees, six political action committees and several businesses and other organizations. Among the more noteworthy local donors include Cape Girardeau County Collector Diane Diebold, Rep. Billy Pat Wright, R-Dexter; Saint Francis Medical Center's Steve Bjelich; and SoutheastHealth's Jim Limbaugh.

Businesses included Cape Radiology Group; Drury Development Corp. ($1,000) and the Burlington-Northern Sante Fe Railway Co. Wallingford's employer, McDonald's of Southeast Missouri, remains one of his biggest contributors, giving $800 for this report but a total of nearly $43,000 for the election.

Brandom saw a total of 49 contributors for the filing period, which included contributions from more than a dozen businesses, including Monsanto, two funeral homes, several banks and Anheuser-Busch. Brandom got money from 11 political action committees, 13 individuals and listed herself three times for in-kind donations that totaled just more than $2,000 this period but $17,000 for the election.

In the Jackson-based Missouri House race, Rep. Donna Lichtenegger put distance between herself and her two opponents, collecting $14,595 in her re-election bid, bringing her overall total to $41,161 for the election and $9,020 cash on hand. Jackson School Board member Gerald Adams raised $5,000 for the filing period with a total of $17,172 and $1,125 cash on hand. Former Jackson football coach Van Hitt raised $150 for the period, with total election receipts of $8,430 and just more than $3,000 left to spend. All of the candidates are Republican.

Seven of Adams' 10 contributions this filing period came from organized labor. While Adams could not be reached Tuesday for comment, he has said that he does not see the move of some to convert Missouri to a right-to-work state as a pressing need.

In other House races:

• Former Jo Ann Emerson staffer Holly Rehder continued to lead her Republican opponent, former Sikeston mayor Josh Bill, by large margins for the 148th District seat. Rehder raised $1,900, with a total of nearly $60,000. Bill reported in his filing no new collections for the period, leaving him with total collections of about $11,000 -- which included a $10,000 loan to himself.

Democrats in that race include Bart Ziegenhorn, who raised another $3,500 to bring his total to $10,580. His Democratic opponent Mike Marsh, did not file a report and has said he is not doing much fundraising.

• In what is essentially a race for House Speaker Steve Tilley's seat, Sen. Kevin Engler is seeking a return to the House, but Farmington City Council member John Robinson is challenging him in the GOP primary. Engler added another $15,000 to bring his total to $140,000 for the election, while Robinson has just more than $2,000.

smoyers@semissourian.com

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