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One week left in St. Louis County Exec race, three new ads drop

Saint Louis, Mo. — Expect to see as many as three new ads today on television in the St. Louis region hoping to sway viewers in the ever-bloody St. Louis County Executive race.

Incumbent Democrat Charlie Dooley dropped another ad today. The new ad — titled ‘True Values’ — is something of a montage of ads from the previous weeks looking to paint his primary challenger Steve Stenger as untrustworthy and anti-women. Dooley’s ad today features clips from previous ads accusing Stenger of “blaming victims” of sexual abuse and “eliminating” senior housing.

Stenger, to his credit, also released a new ad today featuring his strongest endorsement yet from county prosecutor Bob McCulloch.

“I’ve always maintained the highest professional standards and you deserve the same in the rest of county government,” McCulloch says in the ad. “The conflicts and the corruption must stop. Together with Steve Stenger, we will restore the county’s integrity.”

While ads from the Democratic camps aren’t new, Republican frontrunner for the primary, Rep. Rick Stream, released his first ad of the election today. Stream is expected to easily defeat his fellow conservative, Tony Pousosa, and face either Dooley or Stenger in the November election.

His first ad from today is largely an introduction to Stream, whose name may not be well known outside his native Kirkwood. While Dooley and Stenger have been publicly warring for since early Spring, Stream only seriously began to campaign in the summertime.

Stream — in contrast to the bitter fighting on the Democrat side of the ticket — has vowed not to run negative ads of any sort. Stream told The Missouri Times that he wasn’t aware of any negative ad he had ever run in an election.

“I run on my record, my resume,” Stream said. “It’s not necessary to get into an argument about trying to make someone sound bad. I tell people who I am and what I can do and I let them decide.”

The primary date is August 5.