JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – CUNA yesterday entered the tight race for the Missouri Senate seat and paid $152,500 for a series of independent radio ads on behalf of Republican Rep. Roy Blunt, who is running against Democrat Robin Carnahan, the credit union group’s fifth independent campaign expenditure over the past week.
On Friday CUNA spent $152,535 on glossy, full-color mailings for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a four-term Democrat and one of the co-sponsors of the member business loan bill, who is trailing Republican challenger Sharron Angle just three weeks before Election Day. CUNA also spent $143,046 on independent television ads to tout Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, a four-term member of the House who is in a tight race in South Dakota; and another $117,000 on radio ads pushing Colorado Republican state Rep. Cory Gardner in his bid to unseat freshman Democrat Betsy Markey.
Independent expenditures allow interest groups such as CUNA to make contributions to a congressional candidate in excess of the nominal $10,000 contribution to a political action committee and a separate $10,000 to a candidate’s leadership PAC.
CUNA has spent $650,000 on independent expenditures over the past month and is expected to make similar contributions in the final days of this watershed congressional election.
CUNA also reported yesterday it spent $17,420 on special direct mailings on behalf of Democratic Rep. Kurt Schrader, following the $34,380 special campaign expenditure it made last week to help save the freshman House member, who is trailing his Republican opponent in the race for the state’s Fifth Congressional District.
