Governor Blunt pledges to abide by whatever campaign contribution limit rules come out of a Supreme Court ruling and rejects suggestions by Democrats that big donors have led to his big fundraising lead.

Democrats have been harsh in their criticism, saying that Governor Blunt, a Republican, has built his $4.5 million dollar war chest by taking advantage of the lifting of the campaign contribution limits by tapping rich donors to write big checks.

Blunt states flatly, "You know that’s not true." Blunt tells the Missourinet, "You know that’s not an accurate statement; that one party here has taken large contributions and the other hasn’t. That’s not accurate, obviously."

A July 19th Supreme Court ruling reinstated campaign contribution limits. Later, it made the decision retroactive. The Missouri Ethics Commission will determine how to carry out the ruling. The commission is scheduled to meet Thursday to discuss the issue.

Blunt says he’s not fazed by the possibility of having to return perhaps as much as three million dollars in donations. He says his campaign has broad support across the state. Blunt says his campaign will abide by whatever structure exists.

Another quarter of campaign fundraising has closed. We’ll see those figures soon. As it stands now, prior to any refunds, Blunt has raised more than twice the money of his likely 2008 opponent, Attorney General Jay Nixon. Blunt has $4.5 million dollars. Nixon has about $2 million. Blunt will most likely have to return $3 million, Nixon $1 million.

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