Group's ads target GOP lawmakers who oppose right to work

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- After falling short of the legislative votes needed to enact a right-to-work law, supporters of the measure are launching an advertising campaign in hopes of pressuring Republican lawmakers who oppose it to switch sides and help Missouri become the 26th state to bar mandatory union fees.

A television ad by the conservative group Americans for Prosperity was to hit cable systems in Rep. Kathie Conway's St. Charles-area district Tuesday. The ad urges voters to call the lawmaker -- who was one of 20 Republicans who recently helped defeat the bill -- and tell her "to stand with Missouri workers, not Barack Obama's liberal agenda."

Voters in Conway's district also will be getting mailings with photos of Democratic President Barack Obama and a man lighting a cigar with a caption that says Conway "voted to defend special interests."

Conway didn't immediately return requests seeking comment this week.

The efforts by Americans for Prosperity follow the measure's failure in the Missouri Legislature, which has what should be a veto-proof Republican majority. The House needed a two-thirds majority of 109 votes to overturn Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of the bill. It fell 13 votes short.

At the time, Americans for Prosperity CEO Luke Hilgemann said that wasn't "the end for right to work." Now, his group is targeting several Republican lawmakers who don't support right-to-work legislation with print and radio ads and mail sent to their constituents.

A spokesman for the group, Christopher Neefus, said the campaign will cost about $100,000. It also includes radio ads and thank-you notes to constituents in districts represented by Republican lawmakers who switched their votes in favor of right-to-work legislation.

"This is just the first wave of a long-term effort to expand worker freedom in Missouri," Hilgemann said in a statement about the advertising push. "Right-to-work will eventually happen for the Show Me State, and we're committed to letting the public know how their lawmakers have come down on this issue. We're not going anywhere, we're invested in getting this done for the people of Missouri."

Rep. Shane Roden said he'd lose his integrity if he switched sides after telling voters he would oppose right-to-work legislation.

"They're wasting their time and money," the Cedar Hill Republican said of Americans for Prosperity.

Roden added others have approached him saying they've been offered financial help if they run against him in a future GOP primary for his seat. He called efforts against him "bullying."

Other lawmakers set to be targeted by the Americans for Prosperity ads either declined to comment or didn't immediately return requests for comment Tuesday.

Follow Summer Ballentine at https://www.twitter.com/esballentine.