This Group Spent Millions Supporting Amendment 5. Voters Weren't Swayed.

Big money poured in throughout the year in an effort to sway voters on Amendments 4 and 5 in the Aug. 4 election.

In the end, it was the group backing Amendment 5 that burned the most cash in a lopsided loss. 

Missouri Promise PAC raised $17.2 million and purchased millions of dollars in advertising to persuade voters.

If passed, Amendment 5 would have eliminated the state income tax. Instead, it was soundly beaten by voters with 83 percent casting ballots against it.

The race was called early in the night..

Missouri Promise PAC did not report receiving contributions from individual donors.

Through Friday, Missouri Promise had purchased $6.4 million in broadcast advertising supporting Amendment 5, according to The Missouri Independent. That was nearly four times the combined broadcast advertising purchased by the two committees opposing the measure.

A Missouri Ethics Commission report filed July 30 shows how quickly the campaign moved money during the closing weeks before Tuesday’s election.

Missouri Promise reported spending $4,301,932.87 from July 1-23. The committee began the period with $24,966.90, received $4.3 million in cash and finished with $23,034.03.

More than three-quarters of the committee’s spending during that period went toward media purchases, digital advertising, advertising services and media production. Including direct mail and telephone outreach, nearly 90% of the reported spending was used to reach voters.

AxMedia received two political media-buy payments totaling $1,982,169. The Stoneridge Group received nearly $1.2 million for digital advertisements, while Axiom Strategies received $357,020 for mailers, direct mail and a political media purchase.

Straightline.ai received $200,000 for campaign phone banking. Missouri Promise also spent $208,630 on polling, including payments to Pulse Decision Science and WPAi Holdings.

Madison McQueen received $129,023 for media production and delivery. Ellinger Bell was paid $148,226.78 for legal services.

Other expenditures included fundraising, communications work, coalition building, grassroots organizing, signs, brochures, shirts and other campaign materials.

The committee’s $4.3 million in cash contributions during the reporting period came from four organizations. American Policy Coalition contributed $1.75 million, Secure Missouri gave $1.45 million, Revitalization Project contributed $900,000 and American Advancement Inc. gave $200,000.

Missouri Promise also reported nearly $7.82 million in in-kind contributions during the period. Missouri Action accounted for approximately $6.5 million of that support. In-kind contributions generally represent goods or services provided to a campaign rather than cash deposited into its account.

The two committees that opposed Amendment 5 raised substantially less.

Missourians for Fair Taxation raised $2.8 million, all of it provided by the Missouri Association of Realtors. No Everything Tax raised $1.8 million, including $1.5 million from the National Education Association and its Missouri affiliate.

Combined, the two opposition committees raised $4.6 million, about one-fourth of Missouri Promise’s reported total.

Missourians for Fair Taxation raised $2.8 million, all of it provided by the Missouri Association of Realtors. No Everything Tax raised $1.8 million, including $1.5 million from the National Education Association and its Missouri affiliate.

Amendment 4

Amendment 4 asked voters to amend the constitution to require that any citizen-initiated constitutional ballot question get a majority of votes in all eight of Missouri’s congressional districts.

Once again, voters were defiant, with 80 percent casting ballots against it.

Opponents of Amendment 4 raised millions. Missourians for Fair Governance raised $8.8 million, while Protect Majority Rule Missouri raised $7 million.

However, $4.5 million of those totals consists of spending swaps reported as in-kind donations between the two opposition committees.

Missourians for Fair Governance purchased $2.6 million in broadcast advertising, while Protect Majority Rule Missouri spent $536,775 on broadcast ads, according to The Missouri Independent.

Protect Election Integrity — the committee supporting Amendment 4 — raised $132,100 and spent $28,653 through July 23. An independent expenditure committee, Freedom Principle Missouri/Missouri First PAC, reported spending another $45,551 supporting the amendment.

Little money was spent on Amendments 1 and 2. 

Citizens for State Parks, Soil and Water raised $287,878 and spent $117,455 supporting Amendment 1, which would extend the one-tenth of 1 percent sales tax used for state parks and soil and water conservation.

No organized campaign was reported for or against Amendment 2, which would require all county assessors to be elected.

Both amendments were approved by voters.