Bill White loans $100,000 to campaign as State Senate race heats up

Spending in the hotly-contested 32nd District State Senate race is heating up, as the quarterly financial statement filed Friday with the Missouri Ethics Commission shows Rep. Bill White, R-Joplin, has $216,226.34 in his campaign account- with $100,000 of that coming from his own bank account.

White received $117,290, including the loan, during the last three months. Other than the loan, the biggest contributions to the White campaign, both $2,500, came from the Missouri Growth PAC and Missouri Majority PAC, both connected to lobbyist and former Speaker of the House Steve Tilley, R-Perryville.

As he has with his runs for his House seat, White has received heavy backing from the medical community with individual Joplin doctors and people connected to Freeman and Mercy accounting for a large percentage of his contributors.

White spent $75,997.86 for the three-month-period ending June 30.

White's chief Republican competitor, former Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce President Rob O'Brian, has yet to file his quarterly report, which is due Monday, but the report will include a $23,000 personal loan he made to his campaign as noted in the July 5 Turner Report.