Jefferson City - Missourians continue to show steadfast support for Governor Blunt's leadership and better direction for Missouri by contributing resources of more than $1,000,000 in the final quarter of 2007.

Today Missourians for Matt Blunt filed its end-of-quarter financial report, which showed that the Governor's supporters contributed $1,003, 531.63 to help Missouri continue moving in the right direction. Missourians for Matt Blunt ended the fourth quarter of 2007 with $4,009,541.03 cash on hand.

"Missourians are sending the message loud and clear that Governor Blunt is the right person to lead our state. Missourians do not want to return to the old way of broke and broken budgets, job losses and out of control spending, and they continue to voice this support by contributing their resources and time to keep Missouri moving in the right direction," said John Hancock, spokesman for Blunt's political committee. "Missouri families are feeling the benefi ts of Governor Blunt's common sense leadership through job creation, more than half a billion new dollars for classrooms, tax relief, health care reform that improves health and wellness, and decisive action to combat illegal immigration."

Missourians for Matt Blunt had raised a record total of $9,879,453.80 before being forced to return contributions to supporters after the Missouri Supreme Court overturned a campaign finance reform law that was increasing transparency in government and bringing greater accountability to Missourians. In order to fully comply with the law, Missourians for Matt Blunt is returning $4,576, 149.74. Despite this challenge, Missourians for Matt Blunt raised an impressive amount and finished the fourth quarter with strong fundraising numbers.

"Because Jay Nixon failed to do his constitutional duty and defend the laws of the people he was sworn to represent, the transparency of the ethics reform law is gone, and Nixon is benefiting pol itically from his own failure because his campaign lacked the broad support from Missourians that Governor Blunt has earned with his impressive record of accomplishment for Missouri jobs, education, health care and fighting illegal immigration," Hancock said.