"I'll just be very frank, they've shielded their donors very well."

Mark Jones, a spokesperson for the Missouri National Education Association, describing a $1.9 million contribution to the campaign pushing Missouri voters to replace the state income tax with expanded sales taxes. The measure on the Aug. 4 ballot is a top priority for Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe. The money came from Missouri Promise Inc., a nonprofit incorporated in Delaware just weeks before the 2026 legislative session began, with a mailbox address in St. Louis and no publicly identifiable donors. When the Kansas City Star asked the attorney general's office about the contribution, the response was that state law prohibits revealing the identity of any entity under investigation, leaving voters with no way to know who is bankrolling one of the most consequential tax decisions in Missouri's recent history. (Kansas City Star)