JEFFERSON CITY – The Missouri Republican Party calls on Nolan McNeill to apologize for his campaign’s latest dirty tricks and to send his key campaign advisor, David Woodruff, back to St. Louis.

The McNeill campaign’s latest campaign TV ad was pulled from the air because it was false and misleading. The campaign aired an ad making charges against McNeill’s opponent. When asked to document the accuracy of the ad, they were unable, forcing removal of the spot.

This is one of the latest tricks in a pattern linked to McNeill Campaign Adviser David Woodruff. Woodruff was formally a campaign adviser to Frank Barnitz. The efforts for that campaign are under a serious ongoing ethics investigation. Under investigation are potential violations of law where the campaign and or its supporters reportedly used large sums of cash and fake committee names to publish multiple attack pieces. One such piece used the name of a prominent Republican without his knowledge or consent. The campaign, with Woodruff as an adviser, attacked his opponent with a story of importing cheap non-taxpaying laborers, when in fact they were local taxpaying Amish citizens. He accused opponents’ campaigns of using “push polling,” which turned out to be a baseless accusation.

“It is unfortunate that the Southwest Missouri voters have to endure these types of campaign tactics,” said Missouri Republican Spokesman John Hancock. “The McNeill campaign has already accused his opponent of doing push polling, which is untrue.
Then his campaign was caught running false TV attack ads, which were forced off the air. The latest deceit is the false charges contained in a McNeill mailed piece that continues the pattern of out-and-out lies about McNeill’s opponent. McNeil should apologize and Woodruff should be dismissed and sent back to St. Louis.”

“Hiring an operative with such a record of campaign dirty tricks and deceit shows poor judgment and disrespect for the 29th district voters. Southwest Missourians will not fall for McNeil and Woodruff’s deceitful antics,” said Hancock.