– Republicans went to the polls one year ago today to cast their votes in the 2012 Republican U.S. Senate primary, but one year later – most of their campaign committees remain deep in debt.
Former State Treasurer Sarah Steelman, R-Rolla, leads the group with nearly $972,000 still owed from her campaign account. That number includes nearly $800,000 in funds Steelman and her husband loaned the campaign committee, but they still owe vendors some $172,000.
Steelman, in an email on Monday, said she is making an effort to raise money. She raised $3,000 in the second quarter this year. According to Missouri CaseNet, one vendor – Advocacy Ink – filed suit against Steelman for more than $5,000.
Former U.S. Rep. Todd Akin, who won the Republican nomination last August but was unsuccessful in November after a series of controversial comments caused national Republicans to pull much of their support from the state, still owes nearly $83,000 in bills.
Perry Akin, Akin’s son who served as his campaign manager, said the debts are owed to “a handful of vendors for services they provided in the last few weeks of the campaign.”
“Todd Akin is still working hard at fundraising and we are making good progress,” he said. “We have found that people still want a solid person of character they can believe in, and many of them recognize those characteristics and efforts in Todd Akin – even months after the election. In addition to fundraising, we have also been in close contact with the vendors to whom we owe money and are working with them to settle the debts.”
St. Louis businessman John Brunner, former CEO of Vi Jon, closed his committee at the end of June after paying off his final debts. Despite his loss, Brunner has nonetheless kept his voice on the political scene – traveling the state and participating in various Republican functions and supporting Republican candidates, a sign that he may be interested in pursuing office in the coming years.
U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, the Democrat who prevailed over Akin last November, has $85,000 in outstanding debts. She raised more than $121,000 in the second quarter this year, while spending more than $202,000.