The unofficial primary results in the 21st Senate District from Tuesday, as reported at the Missouri Secretary of State web site:
State Senator – District 21 – Summary
(106 of 106 Precincts Reported)
ElGene Ver Dught DEM 6,407 100%
Party Total 6,407
David Pearce REP 12,452 65.2%
Mike McGhee REP 6,653 34.8%
Party Total 19,105
Steven Hedrick LIB 111 100%
Party Total 111
Total Votes 25,623
So, we thought we’d take out a calculator.
Mike McGhee (r) reported the following in his last campaign finance filing with the Missouri Ethics Commission:
REPORT SUMMARY
MCGHEE FOR SENATE [pdf]7/30/2012
6. In-kind Contributions Received This Period [$] 69,990.42
8. Total All Receipts This Election $344,470.86
27. Money On Hand at the close of this
reporting period $68,741.17
[emphasis added]
We’ll assume that the candidate spent most of their remaining cash on hand since that money won’t do any good after you lose an election. And, given the free spending support he received from big money in the past we’ll assume he wasn’t too concerned about an inability to raise more funds for the general election.
$344,470.86 cash raised divided by 6,653 votes = $51.78 (rounded up) per vote. Mike McGhee probably would have done better for less money if he had taken everyone out for dinner.
And for David Pearce (r), the republican primary victor?
REPORT SUMMARY
PEARCE FOR SENATE [pdf] 7/30/2012
8. Total All Receipts This Election $312,297.15
27. Money On Hand at the close of this reporting period $152,082.72
[emphasis added]
We’ll make the same assumptions (okay, we’ll also acknowledge that a confident campaign that spent $17,000.00 on a poll would probably not spend everything in the primary).
$312,297.15 cash raised divided by 12,452 votes = $25.08 per vote. Still enough for a good dinner. But he did win. There is this gem in the Warrensburg Daily Star-Journal:
8/8/2012 12:37:00 AM
PEARCE WINS PRIMARY BID [subscription required]
….Pearce said Tuesday that working closely with people in each county within the district made the difference in the race. He said he would rather have grass roots support from voters than tens of thousands of dollars from people who do not live in the district….
Oh, really? This, a sampling of contributions, from a single 8 Day Before Primary Election report filed right before the primary:
CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED – SUPPLEMENTAL
PEARCE FOR SENATE [pdf] 7/30/2012
Missouri Forest Products PAC 611 E. Capitol Ave. Suite 1 Jefferson City MO 65101 7/2/2012 $500.00
MLPA Legislative Fund P.O. Box 1725 Jefferson City MO 65102 7/6/2012 $500.00
Hallmark Cards Inc. P.O. Box 419580 Kansas City MO 64141 7/9/2012 $1,000.00
Missouri Public School Advocates 704 Wildwood Dr. Columbia MO 65203 7/9/2012 $2,000.00
JE Dunn Construction 1001 Locust St. Kansas City MO 64106 7/9/2012 $500.00
Terrence Dunn 1001 Locust St. Kansas City MO 64106 JE DUNN — President 7/9/2012 $1,000.00
Missouri Republican Leadership Council P.O. Box 16737 St. Louis MO 63105 7/9/2012 $10,000.00
Blue Cross Blue Shield of KC PAC P.O. Box 419169 Kansas City MO 64141 7/10/2012 $1,000.00
Missouri ACTE PAC P.O. Box 1865 Jefferson City MO 65102 7/11/2012 $500.00
Consumer Lending Alliance 92 Royster Dr. Crawfordville FL 32327 7/11/2012 $500.00
St. Louis Teachers COPE Fund 2710 Hampton Ave. St. Louis MO 63139 7/12/2012 $1,000.00
Smithfield Foods Inc. P.O. Box 9004 Smithfield VA 23431 7/16/2012 $500.00
Missouri Freedom P.O. Box 1792 Jefferson City MO 65102 7/16/2012 $2,500.00
Ameren UE PAC P.O. Box 780 Jefferson City MO 65102 7/17/2012 $2,500.00
Missouri Association of Municipal Utilities 1808 I-70 Dr. SW Columbia MO 65203 7/17/2012 $500.00
Coventry Health Care 8320 Ward Pkwy. Kansas City MO 64114 7/17/2012 $750.00
Anheuser Busch Companies One Busch Place 202-8 St. Louis MO 63118 7/17/2012 $1,000.00
MO Optometric PAC 100 E. High St. Suite 301 Jefferson City MO 65101 7/17/2012 $1,000.00
Fred Dreiling LLC 7325 Summit Kansas City MO 64114 7/17/2012 $250.00
HCA Missouri Good Government Fund P.O. Box 305 Jefferson City MO 65102 7/17/2012 $1,000.00
MO Criminal Defense Lawyers PAC P.O. Box 1543 Jefferson City MO 65102 7/17/2012 $500.00
CenturyLink 220 Madison St. Jefferson City MO 65101 7/18/2012 $2,500.00
American Traffic Solutions 2737 Hereford Ave. St. Louis MO 63139 7/18/2012 $500.00
LeadingAge Missouri 3412 Knipp Dr. Suite 102 Jefferson City MO 65109 7/18/2012 $500.00
W.E. Shoehigh LLC P.O Box 104232 Jefferson City MO 65110 7/20/2012 $500.00
Credit Union PAC 223 Madison St. Jefferson City MO 65101 7/20/2012 $200.00
Missouri CPA PAC 540 Maryville Centre Dr. Suite 200 St. Louis MO 63141 7/21/2012 $500.00
MO Bev PAC P.O. Box 1865 Jefferson City MO 65102 7/21/2012 $500.00
Engler for Missouri 108 W. Columbia Farmington MO 63640 7/24/2012 $1,000.00
Community Health Access Committee P.O. Box 6621 Jefferson City MO 65102 7/24/2012 $250.00
Xcaliber MO PAC 215 E. Capitol Ave. Jefferson City MO 65101 7/24/2012 $250.00
Noranda Aluminum Inc. P.O. Box 70 New Madrid MO 63869 7/25/2012 $4,000.00
Phillips 66 Company 201 NW 63rd St Suite 300 Oklahoma City OK 73116 7/25/2012 $750.00
Citizens for Jay Wasson P.O. Box 1231 Nixa MO 65714 7/26/2012 $2,500.00
[emphasis added]
Nope, not actually in the district. Yeah, so maybe some of these entities do business in the district (beer, anyone?), but let’s not pretend that republican internal struggle for control primary campaigns are funded exclusively by little old ladies who live in the district writing $20.00 checks, mkay?
Captain Renault: I’m shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here! [a croupier hands Renault a pile of money]
Croupier: Your winnings, sir.
Captain Renault: [sotto voce] Oh, thank you very much.
Here’s the punchline – ElGene Ver Dught, the Democratic Party candidate in the 21st Senate District, having spent and raised a minimal amount of money in the campaign to date is by far the candidate currently least beholden to outside of the district interests:
REPORT SUMMARY
VER DUGHT FOR SENATE [pdf] 7/30/2012
2. All Monetary Contributions Received This Period $115.00
3. All Loans Received This Period [$]3,000.00
27. Money On Hand at the close of this reporting period $3,988.16
[emphasis added]
Again, making the same assumptions, $3,988.16 cash raised divided by 6,407 votes = 62 cents per vote.