McCaskill jumps on Akin with first critical ad; Schaefer joins ad scene
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 ad buys collected for the week of Sept. 25:
Despite widespread pressure from top national Republicans, including presidential candidate Mitt Romney, and conservative groups, GOP U.S. Senate candidate Todd Akin has stuck to his word that he will remain in the race, refusing to remove his name from the ballot. The deadline for Akin to withdraw his name from the ballot has passed, cementing his candidacy and bringing with it the first ad from his Democratic opponent criticizing him for his often controversial choice of words.
With the deadline an afterthought, Claire McCaskill now has the freedom to attack her opponent without worry that he could be replaced after dropping out. The Democratic incumbent lost no time jumping on this opportunity, releasing her first post-primary ad criticizing her Republican opponent early Tuesday morning. The ad lists multiple quotes from Akin that detail his stance on Social Security and student loans, as well as mention his “legitimate rape” comments.
McCaskill paired her ad against Akin with one promoting her own record, which was also released Tuesday. The positive ad has McCaskill touting her record and her plans for using “common sense, Missouri” tactics to “balance the federal budget and cut spending.” McCaskill also takes an indirect shot at Akin by saying “Congress must keep (her) ban on earmarks.” Akin recently came under scrutiny for agreeing to change his stance and oppose earmarks to gain the support of a Republican Super PAC.
McCaskill has scheduled to run the two ads throughout the week, buying $41,060 worth of mid-Missouri air time.
Incumbent state Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, has officially entered the political ad scene with an ad explaining why he has chosen to serve in the state Senate.
Schaefer bought $62,810 worth of air time and is running the ad over the next three weeks. He is defending his 19th District Senate seat against Democratic challenger Mary Still, who is currently a state representative. Still previously bought time for ads set to run in October and the days before the general election.
Other mid-Missouri ad buys:
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Akin bought $13,135 worth of air time and is continuing to run an ad against McCaskill, entitled “Broken Trust.”
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Missouri’s two gubernatorial candidates are continuing to run ads aimed against each other. Both Democratic incumbent Jay Nixon and Republican candidate Dave Spence released ads late last week, criticizing each other. Spence’s ad takes aim at Nixon’s 2008 support for President Barack Obama, while Nixon’s ad attacks Spence for his involvement in a bank that refused to payback federal bailout money. Nixon bought $135,510 worth of air time for ads running from last week into next week. Spence bought $39,845 for the same time frame, which supplement his contracts from last week.
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Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Chris Koster bought an additional $11,095 worth of ad time to supplement the buys made last week. Koster is continuing to run his ad, entitled “Conviction,” for the current week.
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Koster’s opponent, Republican Ed Martin, bought $2,750 worth of ad time at one of the stations. Martin has only released one ad so far, but he has previously bought time to run ads in October and the days before the election.
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Late last week American Future Fund, a conservative 501(c)(4) group, released an ad aimed at Koster for his “misleading actions.” The ad is running statewide, but none of the three mid-Missouri stations reported any ad buys from the group.
- The Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, Susan Montee, has begun buying air time with a $18,140 purchase, reserving ad time for October and the days before the general election.
