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Galloway family’s ties to lobbying subject of new attack ad

EXCLUSIVE — Democratic gubernatorial nominee Nicole Galloway’s family’s ties to lobbying and campaign donations are the subject of a new attack ad that dropped Wednesday from a group supporting Gov. Mike Parson in November.

The 30-second spot from Uniting Missouri, titled “Pay to Play,” accused Galloway of taking campaign donations from “lobbyists who represent agencies she’s supposed to audit.” Specifically, it’s critical of Galloway’s campaign for accepting donations from the United Auto Workers (UAW) as leaders faced a federal corruption investigation

Galloway’s PAC, Keep Government Accountable, has received nearly $500,000 from the UAW. 

Additionally, the ad criticizes Galloway’s family, particularly her husband and father-in-law, for their ties to lobbying efforts. 

“The Galloways have passed through the revolving door more times than a bellhop. We’re going to expose their family lobbying business and call out Nicole Galloway for being the Jefferson City insider she is,” Mike Berg, a spokesman for Uniting Missouri, said. 

Galloway serves as Missouri’s state auditor and is the lone Democratic statewide official. 

“This latest negative attack shows that the governor and his allies recognize they have no positive accomplishments of their own to run on. Independent fact checks have found their previous attack ads to be false,” Eric Slusher, a Galloway spokesman, said. “Attacking thousands of hard-working Missouri auto workers is a new low even for them. The corruption of our politics is how Mike Parson got to where he is today. No one in statewide office has taken more in lobbyist gifts and political contributions than Mike Parson. The insiders that funded his rise are desperate to maintain their hold on power while regular folks continue to struggle.”

Galloway’s campaign gained some momentum this week when the Cook Political Report downgraded the gubernatorial contest from “likely” to “lean” Republican. 

“Several factors, including increased spending from both national Republican and Democratic groups, along with strong fundraising from Galloway, competitive internal polling, newly up-for-grabs suburban areas and miscues on COVID-19 from [Parson] make this a more competitive race,” the group said. 

Both candidates have received endorsements from the respective presidential contenders, with former Vice President Joe Biden backing Galloway earlier this week and President Donald Trump choosing Parson a little over a year ago.

In the latest campaign filing reports, Parson reported having more than $1.9 million in his war chest. Uniting Missouri boasted more than $3.8 million. In comparison, Galloway reported having more than $2.1 cash on hand; Keep Government Accountable has more than $1.6 million. 

This story has been updated to include a response from Galloway’s campaign.