Philanthropist and political activist Rex Sinquefield (left) apparently has chosen sides in the region's combative 14th District state Senate contest.

Two of the candidates -- state Reps. Don Calloway (right), D-St. Louis, and Ted Hoskins, D-Berkeley -- have each received $30,000 apiece within the past week from Progress for the Saint Louis Region, a new campaign committee that initially is being bankrolled with $100,000 from Sinquefield.

Calloway said that he received the money because he and Sinquefield agree on the need to expand education options for students in failing districts. (Hoskins, who also got hefty donations from Sinquefield in 2009, previously has said the same.)

Calloway can use Sinquefield's financial help, since the candidate acted earlier in June to amend his April campaign report. Calloway dropped a number of donations, mostly from relatives. He said the initial report inaccurately reported "commitments'' as donations, and had nothing to do with Sinquefield.

In any case, the amended report reduced Calloway's cash on hand (as of April 15) from $30,400 to just under $20,000.

Another Democrat in the 14h District battle, state Rep. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, (left) also reported a hefty last-minute donation Wednesday: $30,000 from Sandy Tsai, head of Olivette-based Deli Food Manufacturing Inc. Tsai also is a co-founder of a regional Chinese newspaper.

Also seeking the 14th District seat is former University City Mayor Joe Adams, a Democrat, who has yet to report any last-minute donations of more than $5,000.

The Democrat who wins the Aug. 3 primary in the 14th District contest will likely win in November, since no other parties have fielded any candidates for the seat. 

Progress for the Saint Louis Region was officially formed on June 7, and has the same address on Washington Place as some other campaign committees with ties to Sinquefield. Those groups include "Let Voters Decide,'' the committee set up to handle his effort to get on this fall's ballot a proposal to restrict or rescind local earnings taxes. (Let Voters' deputy treasurer has the same Washington Place address; the group's main address is in Jefferson City.)