A constellation of political action committees tied to a Jefferson City lobbyist raked in $530,000 in contributions this month from a pair of companies.
The six PACs — MO Majority PAC, Missouri Growth PAC, Missouri C PAC, Missouri Senior PAC, Missouri AG PAC and Conservative Leaders of Missouri — are connected to Steve Tilley, a lobbyist and former Republican speaker of the Missouri House.
And both of the donors — Torch Electronics and New Day Healthcare — are Tilley clients.
It’s a familiar pattern. Tilley’s clients for years have spread donations among the six PACs, drawing criticism from those who see it as a way to skirt limits on how much a candidate can accept from an individual or PAC, as well as a ban on direct corporate contribution to candidates.
A spokeswoman for Tilley’s firm declined to comment on the donations.
Torch, which owns games that operate like slot machines state gambling regulators argue are illegal, cut checks last week for $55,000 to each of the six PACs. Since 2022, the company has given the PACs $750,000.
New Day owns Missouri-based Phoenix Home Care and Hospice. It gave $40,000 checks to each PAC, adding to the $400,000 Phoenix has directly donated to the PACs since 2022.
The haul comes a little more than a month before voters head to the polls for the statewide primary Aug. 6.
None of the PACs have made any donations this year. But they’ve been active in the past, especially with legislative candidates.
For example, on the same day in late November 2023, all six PACs made identical $2,000 donations to House Majority Leader Jon Patterson.
The maximum individual donation to a House candidate is $2,000.
The largest beneficiary of the PACs largesse in recent years has been House Speaker Dean Plocher. The committee supporting his candidacy for secretary of state has received $50,000 in combined donations since 2021 from Conservative Leaders of Missouri, Missouri Senior PAC and MO Majority PAC.
In addition to its donations to Tilley’s PACs, Torch also gave $15,000 this month to Uniting Missouri, a committee set up in 2018 by supporters of Republican Gov. Mike Parson.
Tilley is a longtime friend and adviser to the governor. And though Parson has made it clear he has no intention of ever running for office again, Uniting Missouri keeps raising and spending money.
On the same day as the Torch donation, Uniting Missouri received $50,000 from the Missouri Cannabis Trade Association, which is also a Tilley client.
Tom Burcham, an attorney who serves as spokesman for Uniting Missouri, did not respond to a request for comment on the future of the PAC or its ongoing purpose with Parson’s political career nearly over.
Andrew Mullins, executive director of the Missouri Cannabis Trade Association, said in an emailed statement second-term governors “always raise funds to support causes and to promote the great State of Missouri. We are happy to help this effort.”
Parson took over as governor in June 2018 when his predecessor — Eric Greitens — resigned to avoid impeachment and settle a felony charge in St. Louis.
Parson won a full term in 2020. But because Greitens had more than two years left on his term when he resigned, Parson is prohibited from running again because of term limits.
After his 2020 victory, Uniting Missouri spent much of its money on campaign advisers and advertising — $69,000 on consultants in 2022, along with, $150,000 on ads.
Spending patterns changed the last two years, focused mostly on Parson’s travel.
Uniting Missouri spent $58,000 in 2023 and $65,000 for Parson’s trip to watch the Super Bowl. The PAC also spent $52,000 in 2023 in payments to an aviation company owned by Tilley.
The Missouri Independent, www.missouriindependent.com, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization covering state government and its impact on Missourians.