Nixon v. Shrink Missouri Government PAC
Nixon v. Shrink Missouri Government PAC is a United States Supreme Court case decided on January 24, 2000. The Court held that states may set their own limits on how much individuals can contribute to candidates for state offices, and these state limits do not have to match the specific dollar amounts set in Buckley v. Valeo (1976).
Background: In 1998 Missouri raised the contribution limit to $1,075 for statewide candidates. Zev David Fredman challenged the law as violating the First and Fourteenth Amendments, arguing that to run an effective campaign he needed more money. A federal district court upheld the Missouri limits, but the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed.
What the Court decided: The Supreme Court affirmed that states have the power to impose contribution limits for state elections and that those limits can be different from Buckley’s federal dollar figures. The decision was 6–3.
Justices and opinions: The majority opinion was written by Justice Stephen Souter and joined by Chief Justice Rehnquist and Justices Stevens, O’Connor, Ginsburg, and Breyer. Justice Stevens wrote a separate concurrence, and Justice Breyer, joined by Justice Ginsburg, wrote another concurrence. There were dissents from Justice Kennedy, and from Justice Thomas (joined by Justice Scalia).
Impact: The ruling makes clear that states can tailor their campaign finance rules to reduce corruption or its appearance without being forced to adopt Buckley’s exact dollar limits. One concurrence noted by Justice Stevens touched on the broader debate about money and speech in campaign finance.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 11:24 (CET).