The Republican primary race for Missouri state auditor between a Washington University professor and an MBA graduate has heated up as one of them ramped up his campaign last week.

Missouri House Budget Committee Chairman Allen Icet, R-Wildwood, who earned an MBA from Olin Business School in 1987, formally kicked off his campaign Thursday at an event in South St. Louis County. He told roughly 200 people that his experience and fiscally conservative record as chairman and knowledge of the state budget and political system make him the best candidate.

“I know where the money comes from. It comes from you and you and you,” Icet said in regard to the budget. “It does not come from Washington, D.C., and it does not fall from the sky.”

Thomas Schweich, visiting professor of law at the University, announced his campaign July 7 after backing out of a potential U.S. Senate run. It’s his first run for elected office. He previously served in appointed posts in the Bush State Department and the United Nations.

Schweich has emphasized his experience as a federal investigator in the Waco incident, an ambassador to Afghanistan who cracked down on drugs and corruption and an international law enforcer who frequently served abroad. He identifies as a fiscal conservative and said he would be an “independent” auditor.

“I’m not a politician. I came into this because people asked me to,” Schweich said in an interview. “All I care about, if I win the auditor’s race, is making sure taxpayer dollars are spent correctly.”

Schweich has taught courses in the School of Law on the United Nations and international law.

The winner of the primary will face Democratic incumbent Susan Montee.

The state auditor’s office conducts performance and financial audits for hundreds of Missouri agencies and commissions, the court system and counties without auditors. The auditor’s purpose is to ensure Missouri taxpayer money is spent without waste or fraud.

Both candidates say they would emphasize high accountability and fiscal responsibility as auditor and have expressed concerns about the stimulus.

The two have largely avoided criticizing each other. But state Republicans are divided on the two candidates.

Four GOP state senators and 80 out of 88 GOP state representatives endorsed Icet just hours before Schweich announced his campaign. Icet supporters said he will have an advantage in grassroots efforts because he has lawmakers across the state who can stump for him in their districts.

Schweich has fewer but bigger names. Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, de facto leader of the state GOP, endorsed him on July 15. Former Sen. John Danforth, R-Mo., an elder statesman of the Missouri GOP and a mentor of Schweich, also endorsed him.

Schweich said Kinder endorsed him after meeting him and weighing both candidates, but said state lawmakers did not meet him before endorsing Icet.

State Rep. Rick Stream, R-Kirkwood, an Icet supporter, said he has never met Schweich but is “certain that he’s a very good guy, a good person.”

“I just feel for this particular race that Allen Icet is a better candidate,” said Stream, who has worked with Icet as the House Budget Committee’s vice chairman. “He is a rock-solid, fiscally responsible person. He’s got the experience, the knowledge of state government to do an exceptionally good job.”

After talking to some Icet supporters since they declared their endorsements, Schweich said he thinks some are “soft” in their support for Icet because they felt obligated to back their House colleague.

“It’s 80 representatives who have to get all of their stuff through the Budget Committee in order to get anything passed,” Schweich said. “I think some of them really do support him, don’t get me wrong, but I think some of them felt they had to do it. I know some of them felt they had to do it.”

State Sen. Jim Lembke, R-Lemay, an Icet supporter, called Schweich’s claim “unfounded,” saying lawmakers not on the Budget Committee have little influence on what goes into the budget.

Missouri expects to receive $4.5 billion in stimulus money. But with the economic recession continuing, the candidates have raised concerns that the state might cut corners to spend the money as quickly as possible, leading to waste.

Schweich said it was “very disturbing” that Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed legislation in mid-July that would have created a stimulus spending oversight committee.

Making sure Missouri spends its stimulus funds correctly, Schweich said, would be his “priority number one” as auditor. Icet has also pledged strong  stimulus oversight.

Icet used his speech mostly to criticize the Obama administration’s “liberal policies,”  including the stimulus, cap-and-trade legislation and health-care reform, which he said would “bankrupt the nation” and destroy the country’s future. He also criticized Montee for campaigning for Obama in 2008.

Icet also pointed to how other states, especially Illinois, have suffered major budget crises, while Missouri has suffered less “because of the difficult decisions that I and my colleagues made just a few years ago, because we believe in fiscal responsibility.”

Lembke said Icet also brings a bipartisan track record, including on the budget.

Schweich said he oversaw numerous types of audits at the State Department and for private companies.

Although neither candidate has a CPA, Schweich said his law-enforcement and investigative experience give him some characteristics of a CPA.

Check studlife.com regularly for continuing coverage of the state auditor’s race.