PAC spending in Missouri lieutenant governor's race shows links to candidate Dave Wasinger • Missouri Independent

A company that shares an address with lieutenant governor candidate Dave Wasinger’s home last week loaned $300,000 to a recently formed PAC for attacks on his two best-funded Republican primary opponents.

DACA Partners III LP on Thursday loaned the money to Missouri First Conservative PAC with terms stating it is to be repaid in 47 days with 4% annual interest. Depending on how interest is calculated on the loan, it will add about $1,550 to the repayment.

Missouri First Conservative PAC was formed May 29 and had no activity until receiving the loan.

The loan was reported in a Friday filing with the Missouri Ethics Commission. The filing does not state what kind of opposition message was being delivered in the mailing purchased for $139,656, only that the cost was divided to oppose state Sens. Holly Rehder of Scott City and Lincoln Hough of Springfield in equal amounts.

A second report, filed Tuesday, shows another $139,656 being spent on direct mail with a message supporting Wasinger. The PAC had $20,638 remaining.

Online searches found no revenue-producing business operation associated with DACA Partners III LP, created in May 2023 by attorney Jamie Mendez, according to records online at the Secretary of State’s office. 

The mailing address of the general partners on the creation filing is Wasinger’s address as shown on his personal property tax records, online at the St. Louis County Assessor, and his candidate committee filing with the ethics commission.

The assessor’s office lists the owner of the home occupied by Wasinger as an entity called DACAS Properties LLC. There is no such business entity registered with the secretary of state.

Wasinger did not return calls seeking comment on the PAC transaction. Calls to his campaign manager, Kathryn Wagner, and the treasurer of Missouri First Conservative PAC, former St. Louis County Councilman Tim Fitch, were not returned.

The telephone number for Missouri First Conservative PAC is Wagner’s phone.

With Wasinger personally providing 94% of the $2.8 million his campaign has raised, Hough alleged the latest PAC spending is intentionally deceptive and intended to hide the source of the funding and the creator of the message.

“Why not put another 300 grand in and run your negative mail?” Hough said in an interview with The Independent. “Why not? Because you think we’re all too stupid to see that it’s actually your money doing it.”

Rehder did not return a call seeking comment.

The latest full campaign finance reports, which were due Monday, show Wasinger has loaned his own campaign $2.6 million so far, including $1 million since July 1. He has spent all but $265,000 of his campaign fund.

Wasinger was also the primary funder of his failed 2018 campaign for the Republican nomination for state auditor.

Hough, a long-time lawmaker from Springfield, has exceeded Wasinger’s fundraising through his campaign committee and Lincoln PAC, a joint fundraising committee. Hough’s campaign has raised $642,000 since the start of 2023 and the PAC has collected $2.5 million. 

Except for candidates who can self-fund, like Wasinger, major candidates for statewide office have official campaign committees and joint fundraising PACs. Donations to the candidate committees are limited to $2,825, while the PACs can accept any amount.

Candidates can solicit funds for the PAC but are supposed to have no say in how it is used.

Rehder, of Scott City, has raised $555,000 through her campaign fund and another $369,000 through Southern Drawl PAC, her joint fundraising committee.

Of the three other candidates in the Republican primary — Paul Berry III of St. Louis County, Tim Baker of Franklin County and Matthew Porter of St. Louis County — only Porter has raised more than $100,000, and he suspended his campaign last month.

Wasinger has been missing from local Republican events that candidates use to introduce themselves around the state, Hough said.

“Some of us run campaigns,” Hough said. “I’ve been endorsed by law enforcement, first responders, business groups, as well as virtually every agricultural organization in this state. We’ve traveled tens of thousands of miles and met with thousands of voters. That’s what a campaign looks like.”

Hough is one of the few candidates who has a PAC that is easily identifiable with his candidacy. Some PACs report the candidate they support to the ethics commission but many do not.

“I will own what this stuff puts out,” Hough said. “Now, I don’t get to tell them what to do but my name is still on it, because I want to show everyone the ownership of me running my own race.”

The final campaign finance reports before the primary were due Monday at the Missouri Ethics Commission and last week at the Federal Election Commission.

Here’s a roundup of what they show:

Statewide races

Republican candidates in statewide primaries for the five constitutional offices have raised about $54 million, through candidate committees and PACs, including $22 million in the race for governor, through July 17.

They have spent almost all of that, more than $53 million, including $23.5 million in the governor’s primary, since the beginning of 2023.

In contrast, Democrats in statewide primaries have raised only  $4.8 million, and spending totals $4 million. Almost all of that has been raised and spent in the primary for governor, where businessman Mike Hamra has used $1.9 million in personal funds, raising $1 million more in donations to his campaign fund and Together Missouri PAC.

House Minority Leader Crystal Quade of Springfield has raised $1.1 million for her campaign and $140,000 for Crystal PAC.

The top five Republican fundraisers for the primary are:

• Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, $13.8 million raised between his campaign and American Dream PAC, in his race for governor. 
• Will Scharf, $9 million raised between his campaign committee and Defend Missouri PAC as he runs for attorney general.
• State Treasurer Vivek Malek, $5.7 million between his campaign fund and American Promise PAC as he seeks a full term in a six-way primary.
• State Sen. Bill Eigel, $5.3 million raised between his campaign and BILL PAC as he runs for governor.
• Attorney General Andrew Bailey, $4.1 million raised as he tries to hold the post he was appointed to in early 2023.

Federal races

The most recent filings in federal races show challengers are outraising incumbents in two races and personal wealth fueling a candidacy for Congress in another.

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Lucas Kunce reported raising $731,000 in the first 17 days of the month, compared to $184,422 for incumbent U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican. Kunce has outraised Hawley by almost $3 million since the start of 2023 but Hawley retains an advantage in accumulated cash, $5.7 million to $4.2 million for Kunce.

Wesley Bell, the St. Louis County prosecutor challenging U.S. Rep. Cori Bush in the 1st District Democratic primary, reported $611,000 in the period and $4.7 million total for the campaign, while Bush raised about $236,000 for the period and $3 million for the campaign. Bush had about $354,000 left and Bell about $1.7 million.

The race has also attracted millions in outside spending for and against both candidates.

In the open 3rd District, former state Sen. Bob Onder, a Lake St. Louis Republican, made a $200,000 loan to his campaign, bringing his total commitment to the race to $700,000. He has raised an additional $455,000. His main rival, former Sen. Kurt Schaefer of Columbia, has raised $272,000.

The 3rd District is another race where massive outside spending is exceeding the funds candidates are raising and spending.