JEFFERSON CITY - Jay Nixon should immediately come clean with Missourians about whether he is willing to violate the spirit of a state law prohibiting statewide elected officials and members of the General Assembly from accepting campaign contributions during the legislative session.

The new law takes effect January 1 and the legislative session begins January 3 creating a two-and-a-half day window that would allow lawmakers and statewide officials like Nixon to accept contributions instead of focusing on their constitutional duties to Missourians.
While Gov. Matt Blunt has encouraged statewide officials and lawmakers not to take advantage of the loophole, Nixon flatly refused to tell The St. Louis Post-Dispatch on November 29 whether he would put Missourians’ interests ahead of his political interests. Instead, “Nixon spokesman Scott Holste declined comment Thursday, and said Nixon would have no comment as well.”
“Jay Nixon has repeatedly made it abundantly clear that his political ambitions are far more important than his duty to Missourians and his failure to come clean about this loophole is another example of that,” said Paul Sloca, communications director of the Missouri Republican Party. “Nixon’s refusal to operate under the old rules isn’t surprising since he repeatedly circumvented them. The fact that he took almost $20,000 in campaign contributions from Ameren while he was investigating them and then gave the money back when public scrutiny forced his hand is further evidence that campaign cash is more important to him than the law and ethics.”