KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Democratic Attorney General Chris Koster made good on the first portion of his $400,000 pledge to Missouri Democrats, as he aims to help the party take back seats in the General Assembly and plant seeds of support for his pending gubernatorial campaign.

Koster, who said in June an annual $100,000 commitment through 2016 to help Democrats seeking seats in the legislature, made the announcement to cheers on Friday at a fundraiser in Kansas City hosted by Sen. Claire McCaskill.

Democrats, led by McCaskill and Koster, believe they can win back seats in Republican-leaning districts where they were competitive in recent years.

“Jefferson City is full of Todd Akin wannabes,” she said. “You have no idea how many Todd Akin wannabes are in districts where I beat Todd Akin.”

On Saturday, the Missouri Democratic Party filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission that they had received Koster’s sizable contribution. Koster and McCaskill were joined Friday by Secretary of State Jason Kander, State Treasurer Clint Zweifel, former state Auditor Susan Montee, State Auditor candidate Jay Swearingen, and Missouri Democratic Party Chairman Roy Temple. Gov. Jay Nixon, serving his final term in office, was not in attendance.

Aside from his contribution to the party, Koster has also been raising money for Democrats already in the legislature, including a fundraiser for Sen. Jolie Justus, D-Kansas City, last week.