Will Scharf gets $2.9 million boost to his campaign for Missouri attorney general
The two seven-figure checks are the biggest individual donations to a candidate or affiliated PAC this election cycle and nearly equal the amount of cash on hand reported by both candidates and their PACs reported in January combined
Will Scharf, a GOP candidate for Missouri Attorney General, walks
downstairs after filing his candidacy on Feb. 27, 2024 (Annelise
Hanshaw/Missouri Independent).
A trio of checks totaling nearly $3 million rolled into a political action committee supporting Republican Will Scharf over the last week, boosting his campaign to unseat Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey in the August GOP primary.
On Wednesday, Club for Growth Action Missouri — which is supporting Scharf — reported a $1.4 million donation from Paul Singer, one of the nation’s richest hedge fund managers.
The check comes just days after the PAC received two other massive donations: $500,000 from Club for Growth’s federal PAC and $1 million from the Concord Fund, which was formerly known as Judicial Crisis Network and is bankrolled by groups connected to conservative activist Leonard Leo.
Leo is considered one of the main architects of conservatives’ efforts to reshape the American judicial system, including the U.S. Supreme Court. Another $1 million donation was reported last week coming from Leo directly, but a spokesman for Club for Growth said that was a filing error that is being corrected.
“Will Scharf is one of America’s leading conservative warriors, his campaign’s momentum is growing and we are proud to support him,” said David McIntosh, president of Club for Growth Action, a national conservative anti-tax nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. that endorsed Scharf last year.
A spokesman for Bailey, who was appointed attorney general by Republican Gov. Mike Parson in 2022, hammered the donations as evidence that Scharf’s support isn’t coming from Missouri.
“Wall Street Willy is raking in millions from the same donors who literally just wasted millions on Nikki Haley’s historically abysmal campaign against President Trump,” said Michael Hafner, Bailey’s spokesman. “They weren’t successful then and they won’t be successful in buying a seat in Missouri this year.”
April marked the end of the first fundraising quarter of 2024, though candidates and committees won’t file the next round of disclosure reports until later this month.
The two seven-figure checks to Club for Growth are the biggest individual donations to a candidate or affiliated PAC this election cycle. The only donations that are larger went to initiative petition campaigns.
The three donations in the last week also nearly equal the amount of cash on hand reported in January by the candidates and their affiliated PACs combined.
Attorney
General Andrew Bailey, who is seeking a full term in office after being
appointed by Gov. Mike Parson, speaks on Feb. 29, 2024, at the Boone
County Republican Lincoln Days dinner in Columbia (Rudi Keller/Missouri
Independent).
In January, Scharf’s campaign reported having roughly $837,000 cash on hand. Club for Growth Action Missouri is an independent spending committee that Scharf can coordinate with to raise money but can’t control. It reported $605,000 cash on hand in January.
Bailey’s campaign reported $530,000 cash on hand in January, and the independent spending committee supporting his candidacy, Liberty and Justice PAC, reported $1.2 million.
While candidates are bound by campaign contributions limits, independent committees are not.
Since those January disclosure reports were filed, Liberty and Justice PAC has reported $835,000 in large donations, with the biggest chunk coming from retired Minneapolis couple Mike and Carolyn Rayner, who are part of the Cargill family and gave $500,000.
The PAC also received $100,000 checks from retired investor Rex Sinquefield of St. Louis and Kansas trial attorney Michael Ketchmark.
In a statement to Politico after the initial donations were reported last week, Scharf said that, “while my opponent is being supported by liberal trial lawyers, pot dealers and special interests, we’re proud to be supported by conservatives in Missouri and across the country.”
Bailey served a general counsel for Parson before taking over as attorney general when his predecessor, Eric Schmitt, won a seat in the U.S. Senate. He previously worked as an assistant prosecuting attorney in Warren County, an assistant attorney general and general counsel for the Missouri Department of Corrections.
An army veteran, Bailey was awarded two Army Achievement Medals, an Army Accommodation Medal, a Combat Action Badge and two Bronze Star Medals for his service.
Scharf is a former assistant U.S. attorney who worked as policy director in Gov. Eric Greitens’ brief administration. He entered politics in 2015 when he was hired to be policy director for Catherine Hanaway as she sought the 2016 GOP nomination for governor.
In October, he announced he had joined the team of lawyers representing former President Donald Trump in various legal issues pertaining to his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
jhancock@missouriindependent.com
https://twitter.com/J_Hancock/status/1775888255440855105
https://twitter.com/stlpublicradio/status/1775920011795734530
Jason Hancock has spent two decades covering politics and policy for news organizations across the Midwest, with most of that time focused on the Missouri statehouse as a reporter for The Kansas City Star. A three-time National Headliner Award winner, he helped launch The Missouri Independent in October 2020.
Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
Fair. Fearless. Free: States Newsroom Now Provides Free, Non-Partisan Coverage Across All 50 States
States Newsroom is the largest news org of its kind; boasts newsroom or partner news outlet in every state following content-sharing agreement with Spotlight Delaware
WASHINGTON – States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization, today announced that it now has a presence in all 50 states; a milestone that solidifies its status as a fully national news network. Following a content-sharing agreement with Spotlight Delaware, States Newsroom now reports from every capital with more than 220 full-time staff across 39 state news outlets it fully funds, partner nonprofit outlets in 11 states, a Washington Bureau and its Stateline.org site — all of which is compiled on News from the States.
While state government news coverage has been declining nationwide in recent years, States Newsroom has grown and thrived, shining a light on policy and politics in state capitals around the country. In an era of rampant disinformation and news deserts, States Newsroom is providing non-partisan coverage of the issues that most affect people’s daily lives. And the organization provides that news for free to the public and other publishers without pop-ups, paywalls or ads. Without its coverage, many smaller papers would not be able to afford to offer their readers news from their own state capital.
“I could not be prouder that States Newsroom will be an informative and vital source of news for all 50 states,” said Chris Fitzsimon, Director and Publisher of States Newsroom. “Our network is filling the gap in coverage of state government news with veteran journalists who know their state’s issues the best. At a time when people’s fundamental rights are under attack, misinformation is rampant and accurate news is hard to find and access, we are lifting up the voices of people who are unheard or ignored through nonpartisan coverage that is free to all.”
The announcement comes following States Newsroom’s newest content-sharing partnership with Spotlight Delaware, which joins CalMatters, The Texas Tribune and eight other independent nonprofit outlets whose reporting is featured on News from the States alongside States Newsroom’s content. States Newsroom launched its comprehensive statehouse news site in 2021.
As part of its continued growth, States Newsroom also announced last year that it was selected by The Pew Charitable Trusts to be the new home of Stateline— merging the two state policy-focused organizations to expand their incisive reporting on state government. States Newsroom also boasts numerous groundbreaking partnerships with The New York Times, ProPublica, Report for America and more. Just last month, a story by States Newsroom reporter Shalina Chatlani was co-published with The New York Times as part of her yearlong fellowship with the Times as a Local Investigations Fellow. Coverage has garnered hundreds of awards from leading regional and national news organizations like the Indigenous Journalists Association, Society of Professional Journalists, Society of Environmental Journalists and many state press associations.
Leading studies cite States Newsroom as key to filling the void in coverage left by staffing cuts at legacy media outlets. According to one study, the overall percentage of reporters working for nonprofit newsrooms in the statehouse press corps has more than tripled since 2014 and now makes up the largest portion of statehouse reporters in 10 states and the second largest in 17 states.
About Us
States Newsroom is the nation’s largest nonprofit news organization. We shine a light on policy and politics in state capitals around the nation and we provide that coverage for free, no pop-ups, paywalls or ads. In an era of rampant disinformation and news deserts, we provide nonpartisan coverage of the state issues that most affect people’s daily lives.
We run — or partner with — news outlets in all 50 state capitals.
We fully fund newsrooms in 39 states, each with its own website. They are:
Alabama Reflector – alabamareflector.com
Alaska Beacon – alaskabeacon.com
Arkansas Advocate – arkansasadvocate.com
Arizona Mirror – azmirror.com
Colorado Newsline – coloradonewsline.com
Florida Phoenix – floridaphoenix.com
Georgia Recorder – georgiarecorder.com
Idaho Capital Sun – idahocapitalsun.com
Indiana Capital Chronicle – indianacapitalchronicle.com
Iowa Capital Dispatch – iowacapitaldispatch.com
Kansas Reflector – kansasreflector.com
Kentucky Lantern – kentuckylantern.com
Louisiana Illuminator – lailluminator.com
Maine Morning Star – mainemorningstar.com
Maryland Matters – marylandmatters.org
Michigan Advance – michiganadvance.com
Minnesota Reformer – minnesotareformer.com
Missouri Independent – missouriindependent.com
Daily Montanan – dailymontanan.com
Nebraska Examiner – nebraskaexaminer.com
Nevada Current – nevadacurrent.com
New Hampshire Bulletin – newhampshirebulletin.com
New Jersey Monitor – newjerseymonitor.com
Source New Mexico – sourcenm.com
NC Newsline – ncnewsline.com
North Dakota Monitor – northdakotamonitor.com
Ohio Capital Journal – ohiocapitaljournal.com
Oklahoma Voice – oklahomavoice.com
Oregon Capital Chronicle – oregoncapitalchronicle.com
Pennsylvania Capital-Star – penncapital-star.com
Rhode Island Current – rhodeislandcurrent.com
South Carolina Daily Gazette – scdailygazette.com
South Dakota Searchlight – southdakotasearchlight.com
Stateline – stateline.org
Tennessee Lookout – tennesseelookout.com
Utah News Dispatch – utahnewsdispatch.com
Virginia Mercury – virginiamercury.com
Washington State Standard – washingtonstatestandard.com
West Virginia Watch – westvirginiawatch.com
Wisconsin Examiner – wisconsinexaminer.com
States Newsroom also has content-sharing agreements with 11 leading nonprofit newsrooms: CalMatters (California), Connecticut Mirror, Spotlight Delaware, Honolulu Civil Beat, Capitol News Illinois, CommonWealth Beacon (Massachusetts), Mississippi Today, New York Focus, The Texas Tribune, VTDigger (Vermont), and WyoFile (Wyoming).
https://libertyallianceusa.com/the-fake-news-missouri-independent/
March 5, 2024
The media is a DISASTER.
Somewhere lately they all LOST THEIR MINDS.
Want to know how bad it’s gotten? Just look at the Missouri “Independent”.
The “Independent” is an affiliate of the States Newsroom, a group of outlets that began as a project of the Hopewell Fund.
SHOCKER: The Hopewell Fund is managed by Arabella Advisors, the same for-profit consultancy funneling foreign money into Missouri’s initiative petition process.
The donations are staggering. In 2020 alone, States Newsroom received $1,000,000 from the foreign-funded Wyss Foundation.
The Missouri “Independent” made its splash a few years ago by hiring two editors who could no longer plausibly pretend to be engaged in honest journalism, Jason Hancock and Rudi Keller of the KC Star and Columbia Daily Tribune, respectively.
That’s just one of the reasons that their “editorial independence” shouldn’t encourage anyone interested in fair reporting.
When parent company States Newsroom makes job postings, they describe themselves as a “progressive political journalism startup.”
When Arabella-managed and Wyss-funded groups began their push to enshrine full-term abortions in the Missouri Constitution, the Missouri “Independent” hired a KC Star reporter to write puff pieces about the campaign.
The media is BROKEN.
The Missouri “Independent” cannot be trusted.
Left-wing billionaires are resorting to shady tactics because they know their candidates will NEVER be elected by Missouri voters.
Spencer Bone
Executive Director
Liberty Alliance USA
https://libertyallianceusa.com/who-we-are/
Shaping Missouri’s Future
Liberty Alliance was formed by a group of concerned citizens in order to give Missourians a place to stand together to promote Conservative principles and bring about positive reforms for our state. We are committed to fighting the reckless embrace of Socialism in Missouri and believe that true Conservatism is fundamental to ensuring opportunity for the next generation of our state. Our goal is to bring people together under a shared cause to help shape the future of Missouri for decades to come.
Protecting Our Values
We exist to provide a place for Conservatives and common sense Missourians to protect the values that make Missouri great. Well-funded progressive groups from the coasts are pouring money into the state to help expand Socialism in our healthcare market, raise taxes, and promote the Green New Deal. Some politicians are only fighting half-heartedly to protect our Conservative principles, focusing more on keeping their jobs than protecting our values.
Bringing Positive Reforms
Our goal is to build a grassroots movement of individuals committed to protecting the ideals and values that Missourians have held for centuries, and to expose the very real threat of Socialism.
SPENCER BONE
Executive Director
Spencer Bone serves as the Executive Director of Liberty Alliance. He started his political career as an intern for the Missouri Republican Party. A year later, Bone paused his studies at the University of Arkansas to return to his home in Jefferson City to help defend Missouri’s Conservative Supermajority. He served as the Mid-Missouri Regional Field Director for the Missouri Republican Party for the 2018 cycle. As part of the RNC’s field team, he gained valuable grassroots experience and an understanding of Missouri’s political landscape. During the 2020 election cycle, Bone served as Grassroots Director for the Missouri Republican Party. Most recently, Bone joined Liberty Alliance as their Director of Operations in order to continue his work in advancing conservative principles before taking on the role of Executive Director.
Bone graduated with Honors from the University of Arkansas and has degrees in both marketing and economics.
“Liberty Alliance is dedicated to providing unwavering support for the principles
that our country was founded on – regardless of who is in power.”– Spencer Bone
https://twitter.com/LibertyAllUSA/status/1786417938154525111
Our Mission
To inform and provide a deeper understanding and appreciation of events, ideas and cultures for a more inspired and engaged public.Governing Board
The Board of Curators of the University of Missouri System holds the FCC licenses to operate KWMU, KMST, and WQUB and comprises the governing board for the stations. A listing of current Board members, committees, officers and meeting dates may be found on the UM System’s website. https://www.umsystem.edu/curators The Board of Curators infrequently discusses matters pertaining to the radio stations, however, whenever there is a pertinent meeting agenda item the meeting date will be posted on this website.
Friends of St. Louis Public Radio
The Friends of KWMU, Inc. is a separate 501(c)(3) Community Advisory Board whose purpose is to review programming goals established by management, service provided by the station and significant policy decisions rendered by the station. The board considers and evaluates whether the station’s programming and policies are meeting the specialized educational and cultural needs of the communities served by the station and may make recommendations.
Officers
- Travis Sheridan (President)
- John Sheehan (1st Vice President)
- Maria Cova Gerritzen (2nd Vice President)
- Audrey Katcher (Treasurer)
- Marc Hirshman (Secretary)
Board Members
- Sara Yang Bosco
- John Brase
- Laura Lee Brayton
- Andrea Cannon
- Allan Connolly
- Deb Dubin
- Anne Elliott
- Gonzalo Fernandez
- Neosha Franklin
- Erica Henderson
- Peggy Holly, Emeritus
- Russell Jackson
- Diane Katzman
- Elizabeth Larson
- Sultan Meghji
- Claudia Ochoa-Espejo
- Tina Pamintuan, STLPR CEO
- Eriko Clevenger Pope
- Rebecca Frigy Romine
- Claire Schenk
- Ken Schutte
Open Meetings
St. Louis Public Radio's Community Advisory Board meetings are open to the public unless closed for a reason recognized by the Communications Act. Anyone may attend any open meeting without registering or providing personal information, unless for safety reasons.
Unless noted, all board meetings will take place at 5:00 p.m. at:
St. Louis Public Radio Community Room3651 Olive Street
St. Louis, MO 63108
2024 Board Meetings:
Wednesday, January 24, 2024
Wednesday, May 15, 2024
Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
Diversity Statement
St. Louis Public Radio knows that a diverse workforce, management team, governing body, and Community Advisory Board contribute greatly to our knowledge and understanding of the region’s diverse communities, and to our ability to deliver content and services that will help us attract, grow and engage audiences and help them to achieve their full potential. We endeavor to recruit from a broad pool of candidates enabling us to hire and promote qualified candidates with a variety of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, personal experiences and characteristics, and talents that reasonably reflect the diverse needs and interests of our community.
St. Louis Public Radio will continue to explore new opportunities for achieving and promoting this diversity and to monitor and evaluate our success. The means the policies we adopt will always meet the standards of federal and state law, St. Louis Public Radio's Nondiscrimination Policy, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s Diversity Eligibility Criteria.
Missouri's political news makers talk candidly with St. Louis Public Radio's Jason Rosenbaum, Rachel Lippmann, and Sarah Kellogg.
Politically Speaking??? Yea Right
Contact Us
Main
Toll-Freeto reach us from Quincy, IL or Rolla, MO areas
Comment LineFor programming suggestions
Volunteer Opportunities
Major GiftsMaria Bradford
St. Louis on the AirOnly answered during live show broadcasts (12 - 1 p.m., Mon-Fri)
Events
Membership/Giving Hotline
SponsorshipRufus Moore
NewsFor press releases
To contact a specific reporter or producer, visit our staff page.Employment
For employment opportunities, visit our careers page.Transcripts
To request a transcript, please let us know the show and episode names and the date the show aired, if possible.
Republican candidate for Missouri attorney general joins Trump’s legal team in Jan. 6 case
Read more at: https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article280731920.html#storylink=cpy
Wall Street Will Scharf. He’s not from around here.
He’s from New York City--the son of a Wall Street millionaire and a diamond heiress.
(ScharfBrothers.com, Meet Our Team, LINK) ; (Andover Bulletin, Summer 2004, Page 7 LINK)
Wall Street Willy was raised in a million-dollar mansion…attended an elite boarding school… a jet setter.
(Zillow Sale History, LINK) ; (Andover Bulletin, Summer 2004, Page 7 LINK) ; (Observer.com profile, November 20078, LINK) ; (Jewish Insider, February 1, 2023)
Then
Scharf moved to Missouri, bought a million-dollar home, and advised
Governor Eric Greitens to raise taxes--not once but twice!
(St. Louis County, Real Estate Database, Locator # 18J111902) ; (The Missouri Times, July 16, 2017 LINK)
That’s because Wall Street Willy loves spending money he didn't earn— it’s his life!
He brags about being a prosecutor, but he worked in Joe Biden’s Justice Department.
(LinkedIn, Will Scharf, LINK)
Scharf cut plea deals with over 67 criminals to give them a lighter sentence!!
(PACER Court Case Database)
Now Wall Street Willy wants to be Attorney General. His east coast fortune is flooding into Missouri to buy it for him.
Don’t let him fool you. Scharf is a born and bred coastal elitist.
THAT’s the real Will Scharf. Wall Street Willy.
TRANSCRIPT
DONATE TO MISSOURI FIRST CANIDATE ANDREW BAILEY
Paid For By Bailey For Missouri, Marc Ellinger, Treasurer
