{"id":9099,"date":"2026-04-07T05:55:04","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T10:55:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/07\/missouri-house-democrats-struggle-to-match-gops-fundraising-machine\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T05:55:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T10:55:04","slug":"missouri-house-democrats-struggle-to-match-gops-fundraising-machine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/07\/missouri-house-democrats-struggle-to-match-gops-fundraising-machine\/","title":{"rendered":"Missouri House Democrats struggle to match GOP\u2019s fundraising machine"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
\n

House Minority Leader Ashley Aune, a Kansas City Democrat, says she is trying to convince more Democrats to help flip GOP seats in the Missouri House (Tim Bommel\/Missouri House Communications).<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For more than 20 years, Republicans have won every Missouri House race in St. Charles County.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is one of two counties in Missouri with more than 150,000 people \u2014 the other is Jefferson \u2014 with no Democrats in the local legislative delegation. And it is one of the places Democrats need to win to break the GOP supermajority in the 163-member House.<\/span><\/p>\n

The county\u2019s closest House race in 2024 was in the 105th District. Republican Colin Wellenkamp defeated Democrat Ron Odenthal by six percentage points to win an open seat. Odenthal\u2019s campaign committee spent $37,298, almost double the $19,832 spent by Wellenkamp.<\/span><\/p>\n

But an independent committee dedicated to helping Republicans, the House Republican Campaign Committee, spent almost $150,000 in the race. The House Democratic Campaign Committee, as it was then called, countered with less than $15,000.<\/span><\/p>\n

The disparity is part of a larger pattern in Missouri House politics. Republicans have spent years building a coordinated campaign apparatus financed by sitting members and aimed at holding difficult seats, while Democrats have lagged in creating a comparable system.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re aware that the Republicans have built this machine over the last couple decade or two, and they\u2019re very efficient at what they do, and the Democrats are behind on that,\u201d said Don Crozier, campaign treasurer for Democratic candidates in four districts and a candidate himself in the 103rd District.<\/span><\/p>\n

The HRCC, as it is known in political circles, spent $2.9 million in 2024 and raised $1.8 million from House Republican incumbents.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Democratic committee, in contrast, spent $772,000 and raised $205,000 \u2014 just 25% of the total \u2014 from sitting House members.<\/span><\/p>\n

The same pattern is playing out again this cycle.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since the start of 2025, Missouri Ethics Commission records show, 68 of 106 incumbent House Republicans have donated $667,336 to the HRCC, almost 35% of the money raised by the committee. The Democratic counterpart, rebranded for this year\u2019s election as the House Democratic Action Fund, has received contributions from only 19 of 52 incumbent Democrats.<\/span><\/p>\n

Incumbents have given less than 8% of the $584,000 the committee has raised.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
House Budget Committee Chairman Dirk Deaton of Noel, left, speaks privately with Majority Leader Alex Riley of Springfield, during a May 2025 debate (Tim Bommel\/Missouri House Communications).<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s one of the things that we have on the Republican side that allows us to compete in a lot of districts that, on paper, it doesn\u2019t look like we should win,\u201d\u00a0 said House Majority Leader Alex Riley, a Springfield Republican.<\/span><\/p>\n

Democrats won 52 seats in 2024, the same number as 2022. Democrats flipped one Republican seat in 2024, but the victory was <\/span>offset by a Republican flip<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The result defied the optimistic forecasts from party leaders who said Democrats would gain five to seven seats by <\/span>winning voters<\/span><\/a> who also <\/span>backed abortion rights<\/span><\/a> and a <\/span>higher minimum wage<\/span><\/a> as they flooded the polls.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Many who voted to approve those measures, however, <\/span>voted Republican<\/span><\/a> in partisan races.<\/span><\/p>\n

If there is an early sign of progress for Democrats this cycle, it came at the close of filing last week, when the party fielded candidates in 157 of the 163 House districts. Over the past 20 years, the party has left an average of 43 House seats uncontested in each election cycle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Democrats are once again talking about gaining the three seats needed to break the supermajority, but party leaders are avoiding specific predictions<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI got in big trouble last cycle by pontificating about how many seats we would flip,\u201d said House Minority Leader Ashley Aune of Kansas City. \u201cSo I\u2019m not going to do that, but what I will say is I have every intention of breaking the super majority and then some this year.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Battleground districts<\/h4>\n

\t<\/p>\n

Republicans gained the majority in the Missouri House in the 2002 election, ending almost 50 years of Democratic dominance. It became a supermajority in 2012, when the GOP won 111 seats.<\/span><\/p>\n

Democrats fell to their lowest point two years later, taking only 44 of 163 seats. Nearly all the Democrats live in major cities like St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield and Columbia. Expanding the party\u2019s appeal beyond major population centers will be necessary to reach the goal of 55 seats that breaks the supermajority.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the end of filing last week, 73 House Republican incumbents were running for reelection along with 39 Democrats. Of the other 51 districts, 32 incumbents must leave office due to term limits, 14 members are retiring or seeking other offices and five seats, all won by Republicans in 2024, are vacant.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are 28 seats held by Democrats with no Republican filed. Democrats left only six seats unchallenged.<\/span><\/p>\n

Filing candidates in every district will force Republicans to play defense more, Aune said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt really should scare the heck of Republican incumbents who aren\u2019t used to working for reelection,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Democrats have not won a statewide race since 2018 and haven\u2019t won the governorship since 2012. The party\u2019s candidates are uncompetitive in rural Missouri and the party\u2019s statewide structure has dwindled since it won every statewide race and held legislative majorities in the 1990s.<\/span><\/p>\n

The possibility of breaking the GOP supermajority has drawn national Democratic interest to Missouri, Aune told reporters last week.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have had a huge atrophy of the Democratic infrastructure in this state, and I\u2019m really proud of the fact that the work that we\u2019ve done in the last year and a half has brought national stakeholders to the table,\u201d Aune said. \u201cThey see the opportunity here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In the past, the party\u2019s weakness left candidates in swing districts relying on their own fundraising and whatever help the local party can provide, Crozier said. That\u2019s beginning to change, he said, but he\u2019s not ready to say it will make the field equal to Republicans.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
State Rep. Stephanie Hein speaks during a February debate in the Missouri House (Tim Bommel\/Missouri House Communications).<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The only Democratic districts in southwest Missouri are in Greene County, where Springfield state Rep. Stephanie Hein won her second term in the 136th District in 2024 with 51% of the vote.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hein spent $159,000 from her campaign fund, while her opponent, Jim Robinette, spent just under $66,000.<\/span><\/p>\n

The HRCC weighed in with $180,000, half of it attacks on Hein and half of it to promote Robinette. The House Democratic committee spent less than $10,000 in the race.<\/span><\/p>\n

Democrats in past races have relied on their own resources because there\u2019s little help from the state level, Hein said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe expectation is that you\u2019re calling people directly and getting that support directly, as opposed to having one large entity that just takes care of that for you,\u201d Hein said of campaign fundraising. \u201cSo you really have to run your own race.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Having funds to target a district with direct mail and multimedia advertising has been essential to sustaining the supermajority, Riley said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEvery year that I\u2019ve been here, we\u2019re projected to lose a bunch of seats going into the cycle, and then every year we over perform expectations,\u201d Riley said. \u201cWe\u2019ll over perform expectations again this year.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Campaign relationships<\/h4>\n

\t<\/p>\n

Candidates for the Missouri House may accept contributions of up to $2,000 before the primary election and, if nominated, another $2,000 from the same donor for the general election.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Candidates cannot coordinate their messaging with outside groups if the cost would make it an illegal in-kind donation in excess of the limit. To get around that law, many candidates arrange for the creation of political action committees that can accept unlimited donations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Candidates can help the PACs raise money but have no say in the message. In this year\u2019s elections, 44 incumbent Republican House members have PACs registered to support them while 10 Democrats have the same arrangements.<\/span><\/p>\n

Both the House Republican Campaign Committee and the House Democratic Action Fund are officially PACs and candidates have no control over the message being delivered on their behalf.<\/span><\/p>\n

While the chief criticism of the Democratic effort has been its absence, HRCC\u2019s campaign tactics have angered Democrats for its aggressiveness. In 2018, Michela Skelton, a Democratic candidate running in Boone County, <\/span>unsuccessfully sued the HRCC<\/span><\/a> for an ad labeling her as an advocate \u201cfor violent protest against police.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

There is an upside and a downside to running without being able to rely on a central fund to help, Hein said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI control everything that comes out of my campaign,\u201d she said. \u201cI control the messaging. I control what people see. I control how it\u2019s marketed, and no one else can impact my brand because of that.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI control it, you know, but the resources are difficult to come by.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Hein established a PAC to help with this year\u2019s campaign, but it raised less than $1,000 in 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n

The HRCC has been working in a similar way for more than 20 years. When there were no campaign limits, its spending was often reported as an in-kind donation by individual candidates.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the key to amassing funds, Riley said, has been GOP lawmakers willing to part with money they have raised for the good of all.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Democrats have had the model in front of them for 20 years but haven\u2019t used it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know why they don\u2019t,\u201d Riley said. \u201cYou\u2019d have to ask them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The results are clear.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what allows us to govern and do the types of things that we as a Republican majority <\/span>want to do,\u201d Riley said.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Internal criticisms<\/h4>\n

\t<\/p>\n

In late 2024, former state Rep. Justin Sparks, a Wildwood Republican accused GOP House leadership of selling chairmanships for contributions to the HRCC.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sparks, a member of the Missouri Freedom Caucus, was challenging state Rep. Jon Patterson of Lee\u2019s Summit, for the position of House speaker. Every new member is told the amount they must contribute to secure plum assignments, Sparks said in a\u00a0 video quoted by <\/span>the St. Louis Post-Dispatch<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMine was $20,000. That\u2019s what I was being required to give to the House Republican Campaign Committee in order to buy my position on powerful committees and to possibly be in leadership one day,\u201d Sparks said in the video.<\/span><\/p>\n

The video is no longer online.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2023, Sparks gave the HRCC a single donation of $1,675 from personal funds. During 2024, Patterson gave $70,000 from his campaign account and another $150,000 from the PAC supporting him, Missouri Alliance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Riley gave $34,675 in 2023 and almost $73,000 in 2024. He donated $75,479 in 2025 and is expected to be elected House Speaker for 2027.<\/span><\/p>\n

Riley denied that donations are mandatory.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEvery member is given an ask of saying, like, hey, we\u2019d love it if you\u2019d be able to do this to help out the team,\u201d Riley said. \u201cBut it\u2019s not any sort of requirement.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

State Rep. Don Mayhew, a Republican from Crocker, said he has raised very little money to retain his safe seat in south-central Missouri and didn\u2019t see why he should donate much to the HRCC.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of my campaign contributions come from just regular people,\u201d Mayhew said. \u201cWell, they expect you to use that for your campaign.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mayhew said he supports Republicans in competitive districts by knocking on doors and making telephone calls on candidates\u2019 behalf.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Then-state Rep. Justin Sparks, a Republican Wildwood, left, speaks with state Rep. Mazzie Christensen, a Republican from Bethany, during the March 4, 2025, Missouri House floor session (Tim Bommel\/Missouri House Communications).<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mayhew will have to raise much larger sums this year as he pursues the Republican nomination in the 16th state Senate District, but said rural Republicans can win House campaigns and spend $20,000 to $30,000.<\/span><\/p>\n

He doesn\u2019t see much chance of rural districts flipping to Democrats.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMost of your rural legislators, especially in my part of the country, don\u2019t have much to worry about,\u201d Mayhew said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Within the Democratic Party, Aune said she\u2019s trying to get members to share some of their campaign funds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Democratic members of the House have raised $1.7 million, an average of $32,402 each, since the start of 2025. Members had $2 million in campaign and PAC accounts on Dec. 31.<\/span><\/p>\n

Republican members have raised $6.7 million, or an average of $63,134 each, and their accounts held $9.1 million in campaign and PAC accounts at the end of the year.<\/span><\/p>\n

The House Democratic Action Fund was holding $404,000 at the end of the year while the House Republican Campaign Committee had $1.6 million.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Aune\u2019s campaign committee gave $20,000, almost half the total the committee raised from sitting House members.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been trying to build the infrastructure within the House Democratic Action Fund organization that will both encourage and incentivize members to buy into the work that we\u2019re doing, while also putting together the infrastructure that we need to do that work,\u201d Aune said. \u201cAnd so it is a slow process.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Black Missourians are a key constituency for Democrats and about 40% of the party\u2019s House members are Black. Those members need assurance that money they donate won\u2019t just be used outside their districts, said state Rep. Michael Johnson of Kansas City, chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus.<\/span><\/p>\n

Johnson has not made a donation to the House Democratic Action Fund but said he intends to. The effort is showing promise, Johnson said, but needs more work.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things that we\u2019re trying to make happen is the fact that there has to be more equilibrium in that process, meaning that we have to do a better job of working together,\u201d Johnson said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The best help for St. Charles County Democrats, Crozier said, is for Democrats in Jefferson City to start working together. Aune identified the problem, he added, when she said the state party structure has atrophied.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI certainly,\u201d Crozier said, \u201ccan\u2019t disagree with that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

House Minority Leader Ashley Aune, a Kansas City Democrat, says she is trying to convince more Democrats to help flip GOP seats in the Missouri House (Tim Bommel\/Missouri House Communications). For more than 20 years, Republicans have won every Missouri House race in St. Charles County. It is one of two counties in Missouri with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9100,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nMissouri House Democrats struggle to match GOP\u2019s fundraising machine - WestplexNews.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/07\/missouri-house-democrats-struggle-to-match-gops-fundraising-machine\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Missouri House Democrats struggle to match GOP\u2019s fundraising machine - WestplexNews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"House Minority Leader Ashley Aune, a Kansas City Democrat, says she is trying to convince more Democrats to help flip GOP seats in the Missouri House (Tim Bommel\/Missouri House Communications). 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For more than 20 years, Republicans have won every Missouri House race in St. Charles County. 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