Some lobbying groups have multiple PACs, allowing a single donor to avoid the limits by obscuring the original source of the funds to the campaign (Getty Images).
After years of no-limit spending on Missouri politics, voters had enough in 2016.
That year, as candidates raked in $65.5 million in donations larger than $100,000, Missourians overwhelmingly adopted a constitutional amendment capping donations to candidates, outlawing direct contributions from corporations and labor unions and banning efforts to conceal where money is coming from.
The motivation, which the amendment embedded in the constitution, was that “excessive campaign contributions to political candidates create the potential for corruption and the appearance of corruption.”
Passage spurred a lawsuit and a rush to grab big donations before the limits took effect . But it didn’t take long for crafty consultants to find ways around contribution limits, forging a trail to unlimited giving by having candidates set up affiliated committees alongside their campaign committees.