This announcement will be the first that many people in the 4^th Congressional District have heard of Hensley, and her tie to this kind of pro-abortion interest group, which is funded by donors such as Susan Sarandon, will not sit well with most voters.

Even after redistricting, the district remains staunchly conservative and votes overwhelmingly Republican.  In fact, John McCain received 57.5% of the vote from the new 4^th district in 2008.

“Teresa Hensley is a liberal, pro-abortion candidate backed by a radically pro-abortion interest group—not at all the kind of candidate most residents of the 4^th District want representing them in Congress,” said Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party. “The fact that Hensley is touting her connection to EMILY’s List just goes to show that she does not share the values of the district.”

The Missouri Republican Party is calling on Jay Nixon to release details of the sale of his former Jefferson City home just days after it was revealed that Nixon sold the house to a campaign donor.

On Tuesday, the St Louis Beacon reported that Nixon sold his house in 2010 to Peter Hofherr.  Hofherr, the owner of the St James Winery and former Director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture, and his winery have contributed thousands of dollars to Nixon and the Missouri Democratic Party.

After Hofherr bought Nixon’s house, Nixon appointed him to serve on Board of Governors of Missouri State University.  Interestingly, despite living in Nixon’s former house in the current 4^th Congressional District, Nixon appointed Hofherr the Board as a representative of the 8^th District.

To avoid suspicion, Nixon should release the details of the sale, including how long the house stayed on the market and the final sale price of the house.

“Whenever a politician such as Jay Nixon gets involved in real estate transactions with a campaign donor, it raises red flags,” said Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party. “The poor economy has wreaked havoc on the housing market, causing housing prices to tumble and often leaving property on the market for months or even years—but Jay Nixon didn’t seem to have any problem unloading his house in 2010.  Unfortunately, most Missourians don’t have campaign donors who will bail them out.  Jay Nixon needs to come clean and be honest with Missourians about this suspicious transaction.”

The Missouri Republican Party today filed a complaint with the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics against Claire McCaskill after she violated ethics rules—and possibly federal law—by soliciting campaign donations while on federal property.

Read the complaint here.

On Monday, Claire McCaskill conducted an interview with Chris Matthews on MSNBC.  The interview, which McCaskill delivered from the rotunda in the Russell Senate Office Building, included a clear call for donations to her campaign.

• McCaskill: “I’m asking regular folks to be my Super PAC…  On clairemccaskill.com, people can give 25 bucks and if people can give a lot of those, we’ll have our own Super PAC.” (video is available here at the 1:15 mark)

The Senate ethics manual is very clear on the topic: “Senate Members and staff may not receive or solicit campaign contributions in any federal building.”

Additionally, 18 U.S.C § 607 declares: “It shall be unlawful for an individual who is an officer or employee of the Federal Government, including the President, Vice President, and Members of Congress, to solicit or receive a donation of money or other thing of value in connection with a Federal, State, or local election, while in any room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties by an officer or employee of the United States, from any person.”

The penalty? “A person who violates this section shall be fined not more than $5,000, imprisoned not more than 3 years, or both.”

“Senate ethics rules and federal law are crystal clear in prohibiting Senators from soliciting campaign donations on federal property, but Claire McCaskill conducted a TV interview from the Russell Senate Office Building, directed people to her campaign website, and even suggested a donation amount,” said Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party.  “Sadly, this is just the latest troubling example of McCaskill holding herself to a different standard—just like her failure to pay $320,000 in personal property taxes and her use of taxpayer dollars for political travel.  Missourians are tired of Washington politicians like Claire McCaskill who believe the rules don’t apply to them.”

After questions were raised about her solicitation of campaign donations, McCaskill’s office directed media inquiries to her campaign and the Missouri Democratic Party—despite using official Senate staff to set up the interview and a federal building as the backdrop.

As McCaskill herself has said: “There’s nothing that irritates Americans more than the fact that some members of Congress think they are entitled to their own set of rules. And it’s true – too many people in Washington live in an alternate reality. It’s time for that to stop.”

Jay Nixon is the victim of Democratic friendly fire after a national Democratic group released a new ad in Wisconsin that highlights Missouri’s rank as the second-worst state in the nation in terms of job creation.

The new ad, funded by the Democratic Governors Association, is meant as an attack against Wisconsin Gov. Walker, but according to the stats featured twice in the ad, Missouri ranks 49th in the nation in job creation.

The DGA has already spent more than $1.1 million on Nixon’s behalf.

 “While national Democrats will spend millions of dollars to whitewash Jay Nixon’s abysmal economic record, they cannot hide the fact that Missouri has fallen behind.  According to their own stats, Missouri ranks 49^th in terms of job creation under Jay Nixon,” said Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party.  “It’s a sad day when Democrats tell Wisconsin voters the truth about Jay Nixon’s failed policies, but they won’t be upfront with Missourians.”

The DGA’s stats are not surprising, given the absence of economic leadership in Missouri since Nixon was sworn in. Among other things:

Nixon’s Department of Economic Development (which Nixon claims he doesn’t run) has been in disarray.  The Department has gone through four directors in three years and been marred by scandals after promising millions to a company run by a felon and millions more to a now-defunct Chinese company without first doing their homework.

Nixon also blew off Harley Davidson’s company executives when they were considering a new factory in Kansas City, leading his own Economic Development Director to privately admit that some regional leaders were questioning Nixon’s commitment to jobs.

It’s no wonder company after company has fled Missouri, leaving more than 224,000 Missourians without work and countless others underemployed.

Screen shots of the DGA’s ad:

A total of 12 delegates were bound to Mitt Romney, 7 delegates were bound to Rick Santorum, 4 delegates were bound to Ron Paul, and 1 delegate was bound to Newt Gingrich.

The results are unofficial until the State GOP receives signed documentation from each convention—a process which may take several days to complete.

Please note: 25 additional delegates will be bound at the State Convention in June. The State Chairman, National Committeeman, and National Committeewoman will also serve as delegates. In total, Missouri has 52 national delegates.

The results by Congressional District:

Congressional District 1

Delegates
Heather Coil (Paul)
Connie Eller (Santorum)
Tom Schweich (Romney)

Elector
David Stokes

Congressional District 2

Delegates
Allen Icet (Santorum)
Phyllis Schlafly (Santorum)
Jim Talent (Romney)

Elector
John Judd

Congressional District 3

Delegates
Cody Baker (Romney)
Scott Dieckhaus (Romney)
Mitch Hubbard (Santorum)

Elector
Penny Quigg

Congressional District 4

Delegates
Carla Young (Romney)
Bill Kartsonis (Romney)
Mary Ellen Snider (Romney)

Elector
Stanley Cox

Congressional District 5

Delegates
Mark Anthony Jones (Paul)
Ralph Munyan (Paul)
Paul Trask (Paul)

Elector
Michael Koop

Congressional District 6

Delegates
Jim Willis (Romney)
Jim Rooney (Gingrich)
Matt Johnson (Santorum)

Elector
Matt Gerstner

Congressional District 7

Delegates
Gordon Kinne (Romney)
John Putnam (Santorum)
Patsy Wilcox (Santorum)

Elector
Layne Morrill

Congressional District 8

Delegates
Scott R Clark (Romney)
Jason Smith (Romney)
David Courtway (Romney)

Elector
Bob Green

For months, Democrats have invoked the story of Warren Buffet, who reportedly paid a lower tax rate than his secretary.  And after running around the state lecturing honest Missourians about paying their ‘fair share’ in taxes, McCaskill joined with her fellow Democrats on Monday in voting for a massive tax increase.

But McCaskill’s husband, Joe Shepard, has a history of not paying his fair share.  In fact, according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, October 27, 2004, “Records of Shepard’s 1999 divorce from his first wife, Suzanne M. Shepard, show that in 1995 he had a net worth of $7.6 million but paid no federal income taxes.”

More recently though, McCaskill has claimed that Shepard pays “oodles and oodles of taxes.”  (St Louis Post Dispatch, August 27, 2006)  It’s time for McCaskill to prove it.

“Why won’t Claire McCaskill release her and her husband’s tax returns?  What is she trying to hide?” asked Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party. “McCaskill’s husband has a history of not paying his fair share—one year paying zero dollars in federal income taxes.  So if Claire McCaskill wants Missourians to take her call for higher taxes seriously, she needs to prove that she is walking the walk and not just talking the talk.”

Just last week, the White House was forced to admit that another proponent of the Buffet Rule—President Obama—paid a lower tax rate than his secretary.

One year ago, McCaskill was caught owing $320,000 in back taxes on her multi-million dollar private plane.  The ensuing scandal was especially devastating to McCaskill’s credibility because she had spent years lecturing others about paying their taxes and casting herself as an auditor and a watchdog.

Now, McCaskill is once again running around the state claiming that others need to pay their ‘fair share.’

“Claire McCaskill likes to lecture others about paying their ‘fair share’ of taxes, but then she was caught owing $320,000 on her private plane.  In fact, if the press didn’t start asking questions about her plane, McCaskill would still owe back taxes today,” said Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party. “This ‘do as I say, not as I do’ attitude on taxes is more evidence of Claire McCaskill’s serial hypocrisy.”

Listen to the ad here:

The script:

It’s tax time again—and as you are filling out forms and signing checks, think of Senator Claire McCaskill.

The years McCaskill spent flying around on her private jet, sticking taxpayers with the bill… until she was caught not paying her own taxes, of course.

Now McCaskill’s running around lecturing honest Missouri families and small businesses about paying their taxes, claiming some aren’t paying their fair share.

But how do we know multi-millionaire Claire McCaskill pays her fair share? Even after she was caught owing over 300 grand in back fees, McCaskill refused to release her tax returns to prove to Missouri families she paid her own fair share.

Call Claire McCaskill. Ask her why she wants to raise your taxes when she doesn’t even pay her own. Tell her you have had enough.

The Missouri Republican Party is responsible for the content of this advertising. Paid for by the Missouri Republican Party and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s campaign. mogop.org