Uniting Missouri PAC, which supports Gov. Mike Parson, released a new ad Wednesday highlighting the chief executive’s support for law enforcement.
The statewide ad features Rob Dean, a St. Louis County police officer who has served for nearly 25 years. The 30-second spot is part of a multimillion-dollar media blitz.
“Missouri law enforcement needs a governor who has our back. And that’s why I’m supporting Mike Parson,” Dean said.
The ad ties Auditor Nicole Galloway, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, to the “defund the police” movement — a group that believes in diverting funds from police departments to other community resources. The movement has ties to the 2014 Ferguson protests but has gained traction during the nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd, a Black Minneapolis man, at the hands of police earlier this year.
“It’s no surprise that law enforcement is standing with Gov. Parson over liberal Nicole Galloway. Gov. Parson is a former sheriff who has law enforcement’s back and is committed to ensuring safer communities by putting repeat violent criminals behind bars,” Uniting Missouri Chairman John Hancock said. “Nicole Galloway is backed by the radical left and has endorsed candidates like Cori Bush, who supports releasing violent criminals from prison and has promised to defund the police.”
Bush upset longtime U.S. Congressman Lacy Clay in the August primary for Missouri’s 1st congressional district. She’s a progressive Democrat who does support defunding the police and reallocating funds. Galloway has offered her support for Bush.
The ad comes as Uniting Missouri PAC has launched an aggressive push to tie Galloway to the more liberal wing of the Democratic Party ahead of the November election. Last month, the group released a digital campaign praising Parson for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Parson had more than $1.5 million cash on hand as of the latest filings. Uniting Missouri had more than $5 million. Galloway reported having more than $1.6 million in her war chest while the Keep Government Accountable boasted more than $1.7 million.
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.
