IN BRIEF: Sept. 4 weekly political ad buys
New ads for Akin, Nixon; NRSC officially cancels Missouri ad runs
Every week Project Open Vault receives new political ad buy contracts from three mid-Missouri TV stations, updating our ad spending database as soon as possible. Below is a brief look at the past week’s ad buys:
Embattled Republican candidate Todd Akin is beginning to fight back after his recent remarks on rape and abortion garnered national attention. Over the past week Akin has spent $22,780 on ad time and released a new ad entitled “Six Seconds - Six Years,” aimed against his Democratic opponent, incumbent U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill. In the ad, Akin compares his “six-second mistake” to McCaskill’s “six-year record,” saying that while his mistake is “well known,” the public really needs to know about her record of supporting President Barack Obama.
McCaskill spent $48,865 over the past week running her own ads, none of which have recently been directed against Akin or the comments he made two weeks ago.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee has followed through on an earlier promise to withdraw its political ad buys from Missouri if Akin refused to exit the race. The group, which has the sole purpose of electing Republicans to the U.S. Senate, cancelled a majority of its ad contracts with mid-Missouri TV stations over the past week. The cancellations amount to at least $254,325 worth of ads in the mid-Missouri market.
The NRSC bought out ad time to support whichever Republican candidate Missourians nominated well before the August primary. The cancellations, however, leave Akin — as well as the local TV stations — without a major source of revenue for the remainder of the election season. Crossroads GPS has only cancelled some of its political ad contracts and is refraining from pulling all of its dedicated ad time while the group waits to see if Akin will remain steadfast in his decision to stay in the race.
Incumbent Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon has also released a new ad that is similar to his previous ones. Like his past ads, Nixon’s most recent ad plays off how Missour lawmakers are different than those in the nation’s capitol. The ad touts Missouri’s lower unemployment rate and the state’s balanced budget, which is mandated by the Missouri Constitution.
Nixon spent $31,865 over the past week on his campaign ads, according to political ad contracts.
Other mid-Missouri ad buys:
The Susan B. Anthony List had an additional $4,800 ad buy to its purchases from last week. Last week, the group began running an ad featuring a women speaking about surviving an abortion procedure as a part of a $150,000 ad campaign.
Democratic Attorney General Chris Koster bought $27,050 worth of TV spots for ads that will begin running in the next few weeks. Koster has previously purchased future ad time as he prepares to defend his position against Republican Ed Martin. Martin has also begun buying ad time with a $13,850 purchase to add to the buys he made last week.
State Rep. Mary Still, D-Columbia, has continued buying future ad time, spending an additional $14,835 since last week. Still is running against incumbent Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, for the 19th District state Senate seat.
