Blunt uncertain about appeal of Supreme Court ruling

Governor Matt Blunt will think it over before making a decision on whether to challenge today's Missouri Supreme Court ruling reinstating campaign contribution limits:

John Hancock, a spokesman for Gov. Matt Blunt's re-election campaign, said the campaign had made no decision on whether to file arguments with the court. But he suggested it would be unfair to force campaigns to return contributions accepted under the law.

"I would expect that legally raised contributions would be allowed," Hancock said.

Requiring the campaigns to refund contributions in excess of the limits would appear to hurt Blunt, a Republican, more than his probable opponent, Attorney General Jay Nixon, a Democrat.

Through June 30, Blunt had built a $4.3 million lead in fundraising. Since the contribution limits were removed Jan. 1, Blunt had raised more than twice as much – $4.7 million compared with $2.3 million for Nixon.

Blunt's contributions came in bigger chunks. Five private contributors and the Republican Governors Association provided $100,000 each, with one Texas couple donating $300,000. In the first quarter, $2.57 million, or 85 percent of Blunt's contributions, came in donations of $10,000 or more.

Nixon received one six-figure contribution. In the first quarter, he received $382,175 in donations of $10,000 or more, or about 29 percent of his total.