Saint Louis, Mo. — The two most watched elections in the state, both for state senate seats in tossup districts, are now in their final month of campaigning. As election day approaches, voters everywhere can expect to be inundated with mail pieces, radio spots, lawn signs and, of course, campaign ads.
In the race between state representatives Paul Wieland and Jeff Roorda — dubbed the “Battle for JeffCo” — Roorda struck first. “Common Sense,” is the classic upbeat introductory spot, featuring Roorda in vintage photographs during his time as an undercover narcotics officer. The ad pivots quickly to Roorda’s prevailing message this cycle, that he’s a moderate Democrat with a long record of public service.
Roorda’s follow-up ad is in the same vein, full of Americana images of children playing and pristine front lawns. In it, Roorda touts his background as a police officer, looking to shore up his credentials as the law-and-order candidate.
Roorda’s two television ads have something in common with the single television spot Wieland has run so far. Neither ad mentions their opponent.
Wieland’s first ad focuses almost exclusively on President Obama and the controversial “common core” education standards. Touting his vote to stop common core in Missouri, Wieland’s ad says he will “invest in classrooms without higher taxes.” The ad makes no mention of Wieland’s opponent or his famous lawsuit against the federal government.
In St. Louis, where Democrat state representative Jill Schupp is taking on Republican Jay Ashcroft, ads have just begun mirroring a familiar strategy. Ashcroft’s ad focuses on jobs and, perhaps more importantly, the failures of President Obama.
“We already have everything we need to grow our economy, we just need government to get out of the way,” Ashcroft says at the end of the ad.
Schupp’s ad, which isn’t available online yet but began running last week, stresses her family life, local roots, and emphasizes “policies that put quality schools and middle class families first.”
The ad takes a sudden, surprising turn in the final moments to slam Ashcroft for comments made in a speech earlier this summer in which the Republican said many Missouri schools “have more money than they need.”
This election cycle’s most negative ads will likely belong to the St. Louis County Executive’s race, where the mudslinging began between Steve Stenger and Charlie Dooley in the primary and never really stopped as Stenger turned to face former Rep. Rick Stream in November.
Several candidates have indicated to The Missouri Times that their best ads are yet to come, offering a reminder that with 3 weeks left to campaign and plenty of money still to spend, these races are far from decided.
Collin Reischman was the Managing Editor for The Missouri Times, and a graduate of Webster University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.
