Jay Nixon’s campaign for governor didn’t waste any time responding to the Legislature eliminating limits on campaign contributions. The attorney general and Democratic gubernatorial candidate put out an email appeal for small donations.

The email from Ken Morley, campaign manager for Nixon, arrived at 6:15 p.m. — about two hours after the campaign finance bill cleared the General Assembly and 15 minutes after the session closed.

“We can show our opponents that our grassroots support, not their wealthy special interests, matter most in this campaign. Contribute $50, $25 or $15 today!,” the email said.

“Our opponents know there’s no way they’ll be able to match our grassroots strength. So instead of trying to win support on the merits of their ideas, they’ve decided to change the rules in the middle of the game,” the email continued.

Morley said Nixon’s campaign has obtained more than 16,500 individual contributions with nearly 11,000 of them being $100 or less.