There is a special election in the 17th Senate District on June 5th to fill the vacancy due to Ryan Silvey’s (R) gubernatorial appointment to the Missouri Public Service Commission. The candidates are Representative Lauren Arthur (D) and Representative Kevin Corlew (R).
The republican Missouri Senate Campaign Committee is running nasty attack ads (a mix of fear and dehumanizing immigrants) in the Kansas City media market.
C071094: Missouri Senate Campaign Committee
Committee Type: Political Action
Po Box 754
Jefferson City Mo 65102-0754
Established Date: 04/10/2007
[….]
Information Reported On: 2018 – 8 Day Before Special Election-6/5/2018
Beginning Money on Hand $104,257.44
Monetary Receipts + $205,001.00
Monetary Expenditures – $236,049.89
Contributions Made – $0.00
Other Disbursements – $5,000.00
Subtotal ($36,048.89)
Ending Money On Hand $68,208.55
We know who gave them the money for that. And there are these entities, under the $5,000.00 forty-eight hour reporting limit:
FORM CD-1 SUPPLEMENTAL
MISSOURI ETHICS COMMISSION CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED – SUPPLEMENTAL
5/29/2018 MISSOURI SENATE CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE [pdf]
T-Mobile USA Inc. 12920 SE 38th Street Bellevue WA 98006 4/6/2018 $3,000.00
BNSF Rail PAC PO Box 961039 Fort Worth TX 76161 4/12/2018 $2,500.00
Centurytel Inc. PO Box 4065 Monroe LA 71211 5/14/2018 $3,500.00
[emphasis added]
You get what you pay for.
Some of the committee’s spending:
MISSOURI ETHICS COMMISSION ITEMIZED EXPENDITURES OVER $100 SUPPLEMENTAL FORM
5/29/2018 MISSOURI SENATE CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE
American Viewpoint Inc. 1199 North Fairfax St Suite 808 Alexandria VA 22314 5/10/2018 Research $18,800.00
Capitol City Research 135 Jupiter St. Holts Summit MO 65043 5/10/2018 Research & Copies $5,076.80
Capitol Consulting LLC PO BOX 931 Jefferson City MO 65102 5/10/2018 Fundraising Fee & Reim. Exp $9,250.59
Husch Blackwell LLP PO Box 790379 Saint Louis MO 63179 5/10/2018 Legal Fees $5,000.00
Williams-Keepers LLC 3220 W. Edgewood Jefferson City MO 65109 5/10/2018 Accounting Fees $2,160.00
Vanguard Field Strategies 1251 NW Briarcliff Pkwy Suite 85 Kansas City MO 64116 5/15/2018 Field Operations $25,000.00
Axiom Strategies 1251 NW Briarcliff Pkwy Ste 85 Kansas City MO 64116 5/18/2018 Direct Mail $30,637.00
Patrick Media PO Box 317 Marshfield MO 65703 5/18/2018 Media Placement $61,001.25
Patrick Media PO Box 317 Marshfield MO 65703 5/21/2018 Media Placement $79,124.25
Axiom Strategies 1251 NW Briarcliff Pkwy Ste 85 Kansas City MO 64116 5/21/2018 Direct Mail $77,554.00
Axiom Strategies 1251 NW Briarcliff Pkwy Ste 85 Kansas City MO 64116 5/24/2018 Direct Mail $26,641.00
[emphasis added]
Yep, they’re paying for those television ads (among other things). The “direct expenditure” portion of the report shows substantial pending in opposition to Lauren Arthur (D) and in support of Kevin Corlew (r).

Representative Lauren Arthur (D) [2016 file photo].
For Lauren Arthur (D):
C131138: Committee To Elect Lauren Arthur
Committee Type: Candidate
4135 Nw Willow Drive
Kansas City Mo 64116
Party Affiliation: Democrat
Established Date: 09/26/2013
[….]
Information Reported On: 2018 – 8 Day Before Special Election-6/5/2018
Beginning Money on Hand $281,607.87
Monetary Receipts + $93,368.62
Monetary Expenditures – $343,304.19
Contributions Made – $0.00
Other Disbursements – $0.00
Subtotal ($249,935.57)
Ending Money On Hand $31,672.30
Some candidates do their own work.
Some of the expenditures:
MISSOURI ETHICS COMMISSION ITEMIZED EXPENDITURES OVER $100 SUPPLEMENTAL FORM
5/29/2018 Committee To Elect Lauren Arthur [pdf]
AKPD Message & Media 730 N Franklin St Ste 404 Chicago IL 60654-7205 5/23/2018 Tv buy $130,000.00
Facebook 1 Hacker Way Menlo Park CA 94025-1456 5/24/2018 Digital advertising $685.44
Facebook 1 Hacker Way Menlo Park CA 94025-1456 5/16/2018 Digital advertising $725.15
AKPD Message & Media 730 N Franklin St Ste 404 Chicago IL 60654-7205 4/26/2018 Media $7,274.23
Facebook 1 Hacker Way Menlo Park CA 94025-1456 5/8/2018 Digital advertising $725.11
Facebook 1 Hacker Way Menlo Park CA 94025-1456 4/28/2018 Digital advertising $734.71
AKPD Message & Media 730 N Franklin St Ste 404 Chicago IL 60654-7205 5/18/2018 Tv buy $82,500.00
AKPD Message & Media 730 N Franklin St Ste 404 Chicago IL 60654-7205 5/8/2018 Tv buy $112,500.00
That’s a lot of television.
For Kevin Corlew (r):
C141105: Citizens For Kevin Corlew
Committee Type: Candidate
Po Box 28443
Kansas City Mo 64188
Party Affiliation: Republican
Established Date: 03/11/2014
[….]Information Reported On: 2018 – 8 Day Before Special Election-6/5/2018
Beginning Money on Hand $70,032.41
Monetary Receipts + $72,615.00
Monetary Expenditures – $99,784.62
Contributions Made – $0.00
Other Disbursements – $0.00
Subtotal ($27,169.62)
Ending Money On Hand $42,862.79
Some of the expenditures:
MISSOURI ETHICS COMMISSION ITEMIZED EXPENDITURES OVER $100 SUPPLEMENTAL FORM
5/29/2018 Citizens For Kevin Corlew [pdf]
Thompson Communications 200 W. Jefferson St Marshfield MO 65706 5/15/2018 advertising 62,000.00
Thompson Communications 200 W Jefferson St Marshfield MO 65706 5/22/2018 advertising 30,000.00
Damar Printing 1230 Swift St Kansas City MO 64116 5/22/2018 advertising 991.70
Gee, those Missouri Senate Campaign Committee expenditures “insulate” Kevin Corlew (r) from any responsibility for the content of those attack ads, don’t you think?
We’ll see what happens on Tuesday.
Previously:
Campaign Finance: About that June 5th special election? (May 28, 2018)
Lauren Arthur (D): in the 17th Senate District special election (May 29, 2018)