Luetkemeyer: Accurately Representing Missouri

Luetkemeyer does not have a Democratic opponent this election cycle. 

David Rosman, a columnist for the Missourian, thinks that the most common reason the Democratic party did not supply a candidate because there are rumors of Missouri losing a congressional seat, currently Luetkemeyer’s seat, and no one wanted to serve this seat and for only one term. 

We think another important reason Luetkemeyer doesn’t have an opponent is because he has proven himself as a good representative for our district.  He has also won the support of many influential and important organizations that have gladly funded his campaigns.

In the breakdown of how Luetkmeyer has received money, his top supporters have been those effected by the bills he helped pass.  The many organizations, we would assume, continue to support him because he follows through on his promises or he exemplifies their values.

 Luetkemeyer voted “yes”on a bill that passed appropriations for agriculture, rural development, and the food and drug administration in 2009. 

This is just one vote that shows Luetkemeyer has accurately been representing the wishes of his constituents and his financial supporters since he has been in term.  

Blaine Luetkemeyer

U.S. Representative, Blaine Luetkemeyer, represents 25 counties in the 9^th district of Missouri.  He has no opponents for the 2010 election.  The district that he covers can be seen on the map below!

http://politics.usnews.com/congress/luetkemeyer-blaine

We’re going to split the information we have on Luetkemeyer into a few blogging sessions. For a look at Luetkemeyer's complete campain finance breakdown, check out opensecrets.org!

For the 2010 campaign, Luetkemeyer has received $393,054 in PACs from 289 different contributors.    

We want to take a closer look at the PACs that have donated money to his campaign.  He has received donations from a number of PACs and a list of them can be found on the opensecrets.org website.

The Eagle Forum is one PAC that has contributed to his campaign.  Phyllis Schlafly is the leader of this conservative organization that supports candidates that will enact their same values; Luetkemeyer votes in line with many of The Eagle Forum's conservative values.

The Eagle Forum is just one of several organizations that endorse Luetkemeyer.  Endorsers not only contribute monetarily to a campaign, but encourage members to vote for a specific candidate.  Endorsers will support candidates that enforce the values of the organization.

Luetkemeyer is endorsed by the Missouri Right to Life, National Federation of Independent Business and the National Rifle Association. 

Information You Need to Know!

Before we jump into analyzing Blaine Luetkmeyer, we wanted to give you some simple facts on what exactly advocacy groups do and how they influence the candidate. Until the end of the election the common groups we'll be looking at are Political Action Committee's (PAC's), third party organizations or interest groups and anyone financially supporting a republican candidate.

 A PAC is a special committee that raises money to support or defeat a candidate.  The main goal of a PAC is to represent a specific company or organization and influence candidates in office to pass legislature that would work in their favor.

Interest groups favor candidates that they know will enact legislature benefiting their specific cause.   Interest groups can also be formed to support political views, such as pro-life or pro-choice interest groups. 

We're going to watch these groups that are donating to each of our local republican candidates from Adair county.  Our goal is to make you aware of the groups that are donating to candidates and how they effect the candidate if they are elected. 

For more general information about PAC's, interest groups or other financially supporting organizations, check out our helpful links section! 

Welcome!

Have you ever wondered where our candidates get their money? How can they afford to campaign? Where are they spending their money? Well, in the next few months we’re going to try our best to answer these questions and more. We think it’s important to study how a candidate is receiving money and support and from whom. It helps better define who the candidate is and how he or she feels about certain issues.

Our plan is to each week look at advocacy groups, third party organizations, and PAC’s to identify how these parties influence candidates and you—the voter. 

Now, if you’re interested in following groups supporting Democrat candidates, our classmates Carrie Nelson and Adam Schmid have a blog that matches our mission, MO Funds, MO Votes, but for the opposing party. Check them out under our helpful links section!

We appreciate you reading and learning with us and hope you get something out of it. Check us out soon, expect new updates every Monday and Thursday evenings through the election. Coming soon: Blaine Luetkemeyer, U.S. Representative in District 9, and his financial supporters for the 2010 campaign!