Democratic gubernatorial candidate and Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster on Tuesday said he's backing a proposal to re-impose campaign contribution limits in the state.
Koster announced his support for a ballot initiative to limit donations to $2,600 for candidates and $25,000 for political parties per election. The secretary of state's office approved the measure earlier Tuesday to appear on the Nov. 8 ballot, when voters also are set to pick between Koster and his Republican rival Eric Greitens.
Missouri has allowed unlimited political contributions since 2008.
Koster previously served as a Republican state senator and had voted to end contribution limits.
In a statement, Koster said he voted to allow unlimited contributions to "increase transparency and accountability" but said that hasn't happened.
"I believe contribution limits are one of the few legal remedies left for government to earn back the public's trust," Koster said.
Greitens' campaign did not immediately return Associated Press requests for comment Tuesday.
Koster and Greitens, a former Navy SEAL officer, both have received numerous large donations as they seek the state's highest executive office.
Koster's biggest single donations reported so far in the past two years came from unions. The largest is a $500,000 check in July from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees based in Washington, D.C. He received $400,000 in March from the Eastern Missouri Laborers, as well as another $250,000 from AFSCME in May.
Greitens' biggest donation of more than $1.9 million - the largest single donation to any candidate in state history - came in July from a mysterious Washington, D.C.-based political action committee called SEALs for Truth.
His second biggest donations reported so far are two checks of $500,000 each from Michael Goguen, a California venture capitalist accused of sexual abuse in a pending lawsuit. Goguen has denied the allegations.
Greitens' opponents in the GOP primary, as well as Koster, have called on him to return the money, but he's said he won't rush to judgment as the case is pending.