Missouri Politics

State Sen. Chris Koster accepted 90 percent of the donations to his campaign over the last 28 days from political committees. Koster, a candidate for Attorney General, has come under fire from Democrats and Republicans alike for his use and potentially illegal abuse of political funds to funnel contributions to his campaign warchest. MPN's analysis of campaign finance reports from the Missouri Ethics Commission show that since the beginning of 2007, 75 percent of Koster's funds for the current election were raised from political committees - that's a total of $1.17 million. Koster's campaign reported raising $118,000 in the last 28 days, but just ... Read Full Story

In the 1996 comedy Blacksheep Chris Farley plays a character who plagues his brother's gubernatorial campaign with problem with after problem. A black sheep by definition is " a disfavored or disreputable member of a group", according to Merriam Webster's dictionar y. Here in Missouri, the brother of at least one statewide candidate may now be just that. Matt Koster, a brother of State Sen. Chris Koster, serves as a principal at Bush O'Donnell in St. Louis . That firm is led by Bucky Bush, brother of former Republican President George H.W. Bush and uncle of current President George W. Bush. Bucky Bush is ... Read Full Story

The latest stories covering Missouri's economy and state politics. Campaign Finance Reports: MPN's full analysis of candidate reports here. Gubernatorial Election MPN: Hulshof website logs most visits in June among gubernatorial candidates AP: Health care fades as issue in Mo. gov's primary MPN: WSJ on Steelman: 'Beware to the reformer' MPN: Attack ads on Steelman funded by Blunt backer; A4BA committee terminated Post-Dispatch: Ad wars continue: Hulshof strikes back on ethanol Post-Dispatch: “Mom” Steelman gets personal in latest ad Rothenberg Political Report: Hulshof Faces Two Tough Races Attorney General Election MPN: Columbia Tribune publisher backs Jeff Harris for Attorney General MPN: Candidate returns $300 ... Read Full Story

Don't let anyone tell you money doesn't matter in politics, because it does. This year's Democratic Attorney General primary is perhaps one of the finest examples of the effect money can have on election outcomes even more so than policy papers and gender. Take for instance the fact that Chris Koster raised $1 million more than his opponents. Or the fact that he spent $1 million more than his opponents. Koster proved that money sells a candidate and buys votes ( not to mention a few endorsements ). MPN's analysis of campaign finance records from the Missouri Ethics Commission (8 day before election reports) ... Read Full Story

State Sen. Chris Koster, an Attorney General candidate, became embroiled in a scandal Tuesday over allegations that staffers funneled funds illegally to his campaign. A response from the campaign said the Koster team was in close consultation with the Ethics Commission and found nothing illegal in its actions. "The campaign committee has always acted in close consultation with the MEC at every juncture," spokesman Danny Kanner said Tuesday. As one MPN reader pointed out, that vague statement likely has an underlying meaning. Prior to his election as a State Senator, Koster worked in the law offices of Tim Dollar, a firm specializing in malpractice ... Read Full Story