Mo. Gov. Nixon spent $15.5M on re-election

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Governor Jay Nixon spent $15.5 million on his re-election campaign and still has hundreds of thousands of dollars left over.

Campaign finance reports released Thursday show Nixon's fundraising committee had a balance of nearly $414,000 at the start of December.

Nixon has changed his committee to indicate that he now is seeking an unspecified statewide office in 2016 and has given it a new name -- "A Better Missouri With Governor Jay Nixon."

Nixon campaign manager Oren Shur says the change allows Nixon to continue raising and spending money for his inaugural celebration and other office expenses.

The amount of money remaining in Nixon's account was greater than for other winners in statewide races. Attorney General Chris Koster had the next largest balance at nearly $143,000.