State Auditor Nicole Galloway’s campaign sent a fundraising email to supporters Thursday highlighting a Republican governor who has spent “thousands of dollars” on social media ads — and the email wasn’t referring to her opponent.
The campaign email cited a recent article from The Daily Beast which reported former Gov. Eric Greitens’ candidate committee has spent more than $27,000 on Facebook ads since February. The ads tout conservative personalities who have come out in support of Greitens in recent weeks.
“Just last month Greitens falsely claimed he was ‘exonerated’ by the Missouri Ethics Commission after they found grounds to support several allegations against his campaign, resulting in a six-figure fine,” Galloway’s campaign email said. “And now, he’s spending thousands of dollars on Facebook ads to spread his false narrative to restart his political career…”
“We’re just three months into 2020 and now we have two major Missouri Republicans circulating ads to rile up their base — and that’s not counting the twice as many dark money groups spendings [sic] unlimited cash on even more ads to try and sway this election,” the email said before asking supporters to donate.
Galloway, the lone statewide Democrat, faces incumbent Gov. Mike Parson in the upcoming gubernatorial election. The 64-year-old became Missouri’s chief executive in June 2018 following the resignation of Greitens, a fellow Republican.
The Missouri Ethics Commission (MEC) levied a more than $178,000 fine on Greitens for two campaign finance reporting violations in February. However, both parties came to a settlement which included reducing Greitens’ fine to $38,000.
Although the MEC flagged two campaign finance violations, it said it “found no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of” Greitens specifically. The former governor declared he had been fully “exonerated.”
“It’s good to have been exonerated, and I’m glad to have been vindicated,” Greitens, a Republican, said in a statement. “I’m grateful that the truth has won out, but this was never really about me — they launched this attack because we were fighting for the people of Missouri.”
As the Daily Beast reported, the campaign ads paid for by Greitens’ candidate committee include conservative pundits, such as columnist John Solomon, who have publicly defended the former governor in recent weeks.
Greitens has been rumored to launch his own comeback gubernatorial bid but has not filed as of Thursday; his candidate committee remains active with the MEC. Filing ends March 31.
Parson reported more than $1.3 million cash on hand as of the latest filing reports. The Uniting Missouri PAC, which supports the governor, reported having more than $5.1 million in its war chest.
Galloway, on the other hand, reported more than $730,000. The Keep Government Accountable PAC reported more than $711,000.
Greitens has reported having more than $637,000 in the bank.
Kaitlyn Schallhorn was the editor in chief of The Missouri Times from 2020-2022. She joined the newspaper in early 2019 after working as a reporter for Fox News in New York City.
Throughout her career, Kaitlyn has covered political campaigns across the U.S., including the 2016 presidential election, and humanitarian aid efforts in Africa and the Middle East.
She is a native of Missouri who studied journalism at Winthrop University in South Carolina. She is also an alumna of the National Journalism Center in Washington, D.C.
Contact Kaitlyn at kaitlyn@themissouritimes.com.
