Posted on Wed, Oct. 12, 2005
McCaskill won't spend her own money in Senate race
SAM HANANEL
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Missouri State Auditor Claire McCaskill doesn't plan to spend any of her own money in her campaign to unseat Republican Sen. Jim Talent.
McCaskill, who spent $1.6 million in personal funds during her unsuccessful bid for governor last year, made the disclosure last month in documents filed with the Federal Election Commission.
Her campaign spokesman, Tony Wyche, confirmed Wednesday that McCaskill plans to rely on donors to raise all the funds needed to compete with Talent.
"She expects to receive a lot of support from people across Missouri who are looking for change in Washington," Wyche said.
While the FEC declaration does not prevent McCaskill from later changing her mind, Wyche said that prospect is unlikely.
During the Democratic primary for governor last year, McCaskill loaned her campaign more than $1.6 million, a debt still listed on her most recent campaign finance reports. After she defeated incumbent Gov. Bob Holden in the primary, an influx of money from supporters kept her from having to spend any more of her own funds for the general election.
In all, McCaskill raised $11.6 million, including the personal loan, in her campaign for governor. Matt Blunt, who won the Nov. 2 election with 51 percent of the vote, raised nearly $9.2 million and spent a little over $9 million during his primary and general election campaign.
It was the most expensive gubernatorial race in Missouri history.
John Hancock, spokesman for the Missouri Republican Party, said he wanted to know how McCaskill planned to pay off the debt from her last campaign, and whether national Democratic officials made any commitments to help her.
"Ultimately, this campaign is not going to come down to money," Hancock said. "It's going to come down to Jim Talent's outstanding performance representing the values and policy preferences of Missourians."
Hancock said Talent also does not plan to spend any of his own money in the race.
Wyche said the Democrats had made no offer to retire McCaskill's debt. He also said Wednesday it's too early to predict what kind of money McCaskill would raise this time. An early sign of her fund-raising abilities will be on display later this week, when she files her first quarterly financial report as a Senate candidate.
Talent already has a formidable lead in the money race. The incumbent reported having $3.4 million in cash on hand over the summer, and that amount is expected to jump when Talent files his report this week.
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