Carnahan talking questions from reporters in Springfield, Mo. (PoliticMo Photo/Blake James)
(JOPLIN, Mo.) With 60 days left before the general election, Missouri democrats have made the calculation that one topic will drive the voters more than any other: corruption.
Secretary of State Robin Carnahan’s U.S. Senate campaign released an ad Tuesday entitled “Mug,” continuing their attempt to paint Congressman Roy Blunt as the “very worst of Washington.”
The ad focuses on some examples of Blunt voting for a bill, then receiving funds from the bill’s special interest group.
“One of the examples we touch on in the ad is the example of Brent Wilkes, the California defense contractor and lobbyist,” said Mindy Mazur, campaign manager for Robin Carnahan, in a conference call with journalists Wednesday. “Blunt – while he was there – helped whip the vote in favor of one of his companies.”
Mazur says, “Eight days later, Congressman Blunt received $14,000 from people associated with Brent Wilkes.”
While she says “he spent over 100,000 in legal fees related to the Wilkes case,” Mazur wasn’t sure if he had actually done anything illegal. “I would have to say the more we’ve learned about what congressman blunt’s been up to in washington, the more we’ve asked the same question [of legality].”
Blunt speaking to supporters at Prime, Inc., in Springfield, Mo. (PoliticMo Photo/Natalie Preston)
Roy Blunt’s campaign manager Andy Blunt sounded off on Twitter Wednesday evening following Mazur’s conference call with reporters.
“Robin Carnahan should fire her staff. They’re running a campaign focused on wild, baseless accusations & admitted it to the press today,” said Andy Blunt. Later, he said, “To be fair, it’s not Carnahan’s staff’s fault their candidate is on the wrong side of every issue. They have nothing else to talk about.”
The ad also calls out Roy Blunt for taking “more money from lobbyists than any member of Congress,” quoting a USA today article from October 2009.
Blunt spokesman Rich Chrimer took to Twitter, pointing to the “truth.” Chrismer linked to a OpenSecrets page, where Blunt, in fact, wasn’t the “top member of Congress” to receive lobbyist money.
He was, however, according to OpenSecrets, the top member of the House of Representatives to receive lobbiest funds and the ninth on the list of U.S. Senate candidate top recipients. Carnahan was 54th on that same list.
Chrismer calls all of this talk a distraction.
“Robin Carnahan’s political consultants are telling her to run from her out of touch liberal positions and to be untruthful if she must,” he said. “Robin Carnahan has nothing to offer except more failures on jobs and economic recovery and the other issues that Missourians care about.”
Mazur said Missourians will likely see more ads, and certainly more calls of “corruption.” “This is just the beginning – there are 60 days left until the election, and I don’t think Congressman Blunt can dodge his years in Washington.”
“Voters are going to see a lot more about Congressman Blunt’s record in the remaining stretch of the campaign,” she said.
email: eli [at] politicmo.com | phone: 417.597.3873 | twitter: @eyokley 
