Congressman Jason Smith is out with a new statewide ad amid speculation he may jump into the Republican primary for U.S. Senate.
The “Farm Sense” ad is airing on digital and social media markets, his team said. It criticizes Democrats’ stimulus plans, saying it will raise taxes, gut Medicare, and include tax breaks for electric vehicles.
“While Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, and Nancy Pelosi are doing everything they can to give away the farm, I’m fighting every day for the residents of Missouri. I’m fighting to stop Joe Biden from funding the Chinese lab where COVID-19 was created,” Smith said in a statement. “I’m fighting to make sure that socialists like Bernie Sanders cannot tell the hardworking Missourians how to live their lives. And I’m fighting to stop Nancy Pelosi and the radical Democrats in Congress from tearing down President Trump’s great accomplishments.”
The ad comes on the heels of a mailer comparing his record to that of former President Donald Trump’s that was sent to voters outside his 8th congressional district and a recent statewide call demanding President Joe Biden resign in the aftermath of the Afghanistan withdrawal. He’s met with Trump and held a fundraiser at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago Florida home.
Should Smith decide to jump into the race for U.S. Senate in Missouri, he would join Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler and Congressman Billy Long along with Attorney General Eric Schmitt, former Gov. Eric Greitens, and attorney Mark McCloskey in the GOP primary.
Smith reported more than $1.6 million cash on hand at the end of the last cycle — more than any of the other declared candidates for U.S. Senate. Hartzler was the closest with more than $1.4 million cash on hand.
Smith has represented southeast Missouri in Congress since 2013. Prior to that, he served as one of the youngest members of the Missouri Legislature.
In Congress, Smith is the ranking member of the House Budget Committee where he’s been critical of Democrats’ spending priorities like the infrastructure bill. He is also a member of the House Ways and Means Committee.
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.
