Wallingford objects to Brandom campaign ads

New campaign spots that attempt to link Wayne Wallingford to President Barack Obama, organized labor and the so-called liberal agenda has the Republican Missouri Senate candidate crying foul against his GOP primary rival, Ellen Brandom.

The spots, which began running Monday, suggest that donations from local unions make Wallingford beholden to their special interests -- including the president's push for health care reform. The ads, paid for by Brandom's campaign, also cite as examples four of Wallingford's Missouri House votes, including those on prevailing wage requirements and the so-called paycheck protection bill.

The ad sent Wallingford's camp on the defensive Monday. It issued a news release that called the ads "a malicious attack" on Wallingford's conservative record based on "half truths" and distortion.

"Unfortunately, this is typical behavior from a politician who is behind in the polls and desperate to hold on to power," Wallingford said.

Both Republicans are asking voters to approve of their switch from the House to the Missouri Senate's 27th District and the more politically influential chamber. The campaign between the former political allies has increasingly become more combative, with each side saying the other fired the first salvo. While each could have sought at least one more term in the House, the winner Aug. 7 will move on to the Senate with the other out of the legislature altogether.

Brandom, who has served in the Sikeston-based 160th House seat for three terms, disagreed that her ads are negative and said they were done to simply draw a contrast between the two. The first to go negative -- she maintains she has yet to do so -- was Wallingford, with a telephone push poll that painted Brandom in a negative light, she said.

Then she learned that Missouri Right to Life had criticized her at a news conference saying that she was not "100 percent" pro-life because of her vote in favor of the Missouri Science and Innovation Reinvestment Act that some claimed could have led to stem-cell and cloning research. Brandom argues that provisions were in place so that wouldn't happen.

The television ad that began Monday is basically the same argument that Wallingford said was the basis for a news release that was issued the week after that news conference, a release that suggested Wallingford had ties to unions that have influenced the Cape Girardeau Republican's voting record.

The spots at various points depict Wallingford and Obama on the same screen and cite a letter from 2010 from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in which the union's business representative, Bill Walz, says in Democrat-poor counties Republican ballots should be pulled to elect "labor friendly" candidates. The letter encourages voters to go with Wallingford, U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, candidate Gerald Adams and Cape Girardeau County Commissioner Jay Purcell. The endorsement is aligned with a 2012 union endorsement of the president.

The ads specifically cite one vote that Wallingford made from 2011, Senate Bill 202, which was originally intended to allow labor organizations to obtain political contributions from a member by payroll deduction only if they consent annually. But Wallingford said he chose not to vote for it only after the bill's Senate sponsor, Jason Crowell, asked House members to reject it because it had been changed too dramatically. In a separate interview with the Southeast Missourian, Crowell confirmed Wallingford's explanation.

Wallingford said he did accept $1,100 from three union groups this election cycle, including the Southeast Missouri Labor Club, Communications Workers of America and Southeast Building Codes, against advice from his campaign staff. But he said unions are his constituents as well and he saw no need to exclude them because they didn't agree with him politically.

Wallingford said Brandom started the negativity with her release about his business record. He said he had no idea Missouri Right to Life was going to attack Brandom's pro-life credentials, although he doesn't necessarily disagree.

But the situation has gotten the attention of some Republican Party leaders. Holly Lintner, who is the Republican committee chair of the 27th Senate District, sighed when asked about the tone of the race. She said she believes the voters of the district are disappointed.

"People don't want to hear the negative stuff," she said. "They were friends. Wayne endorsed Ellen when she announced first and now they're at each other's throats? That is what politics is doing to our party."

smoyers@semissourian.com

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