The law also has eliminated the incumbent's fund-raising advantage, she said. Longley, a Democrat, is now seeking her fourth term, running against a county sheriff. Now I have to outwit him. The Missouri proposition sets up a system that attempts to shorten the campaign season and reduce the overall amount of money in Missouri campaigns. Such a system would be a radical change from current practice.
Current law allows unlimited contributions to political parties.
Gray said most people don't realize that current law sets no limits. They don't realize that under current law, the sky's the limit. The proposal also attempts to exclude fringe candidates from receiving public money. Candidates would not be eligible for any public funding unless they received at least 5 percent of the vote in the previous election for the office sought or their party's candidates received a total of at least 5 percent of the overall vote cast in the previous election. Full public financing would not kick in unless those vote totals from previous elections were at least 15 percent.