Injury lawyers are backing the gubernatorial campaign of State Sen. Bill Eigel (R-St. Charles Co.) in spite of the two-term legislator running behind rivals Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe.
Brown & Crouppen, Onder Law, Simon Law and Goldblatt & Singer of St. Louis are among trial lawyer firms that have contributed more than $200,000 to the Believe in Life and Liberty or "BILL" political action committee in March alone.
Eigel, first elected to the Senate in 2016, is known for a combative style, which may have peaked during a fundraising event last September where he used a flamethrower - a raffle item - to set afire a stack of cardboard boxes. A video posted on X drew approximately 20 million views as he was falsely alleged to have set fire to books, according to several media reports.
Limited to two terms in the Senate, Eigel announced in September he would seek the Republican nomination for governor. The Eigel campaign quickly faced controversy, drawing the ire of the Trump campaign.
In a cease and desist letter sent from a law firm representing Donald J. Trump for President 2024, the BILL PAC was rebuked for its unauthorized use of Trump's name, image, likeness and voice to fundraise for Eigel's gubernatorial campaign, and for having ignored previous warnings and requests to stop.
"Neither Bill Eigel nor his BILL PAC have anything to do with President Trump or his campaign," the letter states.
"This deceptive practice is unacceptable and destructive of the MAGA movement: it tarnishes the Trump movement's reputation, harms the relationship between President Trump and his supporters, and exploits the good will and character of patriotic Americans whom you are manipulating out of money by lies and misdirection."
Trial lawyer campaign contributions typically favor Democrat candidates, but in a conservative state like Missouri, trial lawyers have to work with the Republican majority to fend off civil justice reform measures contrary to their interests.
Over the past several years, courts in St. Louis have been criticized by the American Tort Reform Association for reaching enormous verdicts - labeled "nuclear verdicts," such as the $4.7 billion J&J baby powder case, as well as permitting "junk science," where expert witnesses found to be unreliable in other courts are allowed in Missouri courts.
"Much-needed civil justice reform legislation has stalled in Missouri for the past few years, and the Legislature must prioritize reforms to address the lawsuit abuse bogging down business in the state," an ATRA spokesman said last December when St. Louis for an eighth consecutive year was placed on the group's annual list of Judicial Hellholes.
Other injury law firms that have contributed to Eigel's PAC in March include DM Law Kansas City, Dollar Burns Becker & Hershewe, Gorny Dandurand, Shamberg Johnson & Bergman, M Blake Heath, all of Kansas City; Langdon & Emison of Lexington, Strong Law of Springfield and Michael Campbell of Columbia.
An independent poll released in February shows Ashcroft with a strong 23 point lead over Kehoe and Eigel. The poll conducted by ARW Strategies shows Ashcroft drawing 36% support among those polled, compared to Kehoe and Eigel each gathering 13% support.
The poll indicated Kehoe, with a fundraising advantage, had polled at 20% in January, but dropped seven points in February.
The primary election is Aug. 6.