2016 MO Senate race: on Government Reform


Jason Kander: OpEd AdWatch: "Pandering Panda" caters to lobbyists

A new ad from the NRSC (National Republican Senatorial Committee) is attacking 2016 Missouri Democratic Senate candidate Jason Kander. The NRSC is sponsoring an ad campaign featuring `The Pandering Panda,` a portrayal of Jason Kander, Senate candidate and current Missouri secretary of state, as doing anything to win over lobbyists and big money in Washington.

The YouTube ad features a person dressed in a panda suit in various locations throughout Washington. The panda character alternates between holding a burlap sack full of money and a hand-drawn sign that reads, `I love Obama.` The ad also features clips of real pandas and high pitched voices making claims about Kander `pandering` for money in Washington.

Kander, a Democrat, is hoping to unseat Sen. Roy Blunt, a Republican who has held the office since 2011. Among the charges in the NRSC ad is the claim that Kander is `attending fancy dinners all over the country.`

Source: PolitiFact AdWatch on 2016 Missouri Senate race Oct 2, 2015

Jason Kander: FactCheck: Has more MO donors & less PAC money than opponent

The NRSC `Pandering Panda` ad claims that Kander is `attending fancy dinners all over the country.` The NRSC provided us with a list of five fundraisers they say Kander attended between March 1 and May 31, 2015.Five out-of-state fundraisers didn't seem like a lot to us, so we checked with political scientists. They didn't see much out of the ordinary in Kander's trips or actions based on the information provided by the NRSC.

[Comparing to Kander's opponent Senator Roy Blunt]: Blunt's money is 49.8% PAC donations, totaling $1.2 million compared to Kander's $176,650, totaling 11.6%. In total itemized contributions, Blunt has 516 Missouri donors resulting in $581,647, compared to Kander's 835 Missouri donors for $679,816.

Source: PolitiFact AdWatch on 2016 Missouri Senate race Oct 2, 2015

  • The above quotations are from 2016 Missouri Senate race: debates and news coverage.
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Candidates and political leaders on Government Reform:

Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:
GA:Chambliss(R)
IA:Harkin(D)
MI:Levin(D)
MT:Baucus(D)
NE:Johanns(R)
OK:Coburn(R)
SD:Johnson(D)
WV:Rockefeller(D)

Resigned from 113th House:
AL-1:Jo Bonner(R)
FL-19:Trey Radel(R)
LA-5:Rod Alexander(R)
MA-5:Ed Markey(D)
MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R)
NC-12:Melvin Watt(D)
SC-1:Tim Scott(R) 		Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
AR-4:Tom Cotton(R)
GA-1:Jack Kingston(R)
GA-10:Paul Broun(R)
GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R)
HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D)
IA-1:Bruce Braley(D)
LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R)
ME-2:Mike Michaud(D)
MI-14:Gary Peters(D)
MT-0:Steve Daines(R)
OK-5:James Lankford(R)
PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D)
TX-36:Steve Stockman(R)
WV-2:Shelley Capito(R) 		Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
CA-11:George Miller(D)
CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
CA-45:John Campbell(R)
IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
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Page last updated: Dec 09, 2018