Sen. Parson reports $900K in race for lieutenant governor

Mike Parson, a Republican state senator from Bolivar, raised over $272,000 in third-quarter campaign contributions, bringing the lieutenant governor candidate’s cash on hand to $907,000.

Third-quarter campaign finance reports are due tomorrow to the Missouri Ethics Commission.

In July, Parson shifted his state race to lieutenant governor from the governor’s seat. He announced a campaign for governor on April 30.

A news release from the Parson for Missouri committee indicated the campaign has nearly 540 contributors in the senator’s run to succeed 10-year Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder. Springfield personal-injury attorney Brad Bradshaw also is in the mix, along with candidates Rep. Tommie Pierson, D-St. Louis; and Kansas City attorney Beverly Randles.

The last quarterly filing by Democrat Bradshaw for Missouri reported over $407,000 in cash on hand at the end of June, according to MEC.Mo.gov.

According to Springfield Business Journal’s review of the most recent quarterly campaign finance reports filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission, Parson and Randles are head to head in the contributions race. Randles, also a Republican, has yet to file the October financial report, but Missourians for Randles had nearly $903,000 on hand to start the third quarter.

Parson is a former U.S. Army sergeant, Polk County Sheriff and Missouri representative. In the Senate, the third-generation farmer worked to put before voters the so-called right to farm bill, a constitutional amendment that narrowly passed in August 2014 and was upheld in a recount a month later.

The vote for Missouri lieutenant governor is scheduled Nov. 8, 2016. Compensation for the state’s second-in-command executive office is set by law at $86,484.