Champion reports more than $10,000 in late contributions

The idea behind the so-called 48-hour election contribution filings to allow voters the opportunity to see just who is trying to influence elections in the late stages.
A filing with the Missouri Ethics Commission indicates Sen. Norma Champion, R-Springfield, who was reelected Thursday, received $10,516.90 in last minute funding, but that is not necessarily the case.
While most candidates properly file the reports each day with the Ethics Commission, the $10,516.90 was reported on Nov. 8, the day after the election, and included one contribution that was made more than six weeks ago. This occurred despite the fact that Ms. Champion's campaign had already filed two 48-hour reports, one on Nov. 3, and the other on Nov. 1. No explanation was provided for the late filing.
Most of the contributions came from Ms. Champion's district, though she did receive $650 from the Bartle Leadership Fund in Lee's Summit and $500 from Wal-Mart Stores, Bentonville, Ark. The Wal-Mart contribution was made on Sept. 25, according to the Ethics Commission documents. Twenty other contributions were listed for October and most appear to have been contributions that would have been more properly filed with the eight days before election report.