Chris Koster (D)
Michael Gibbons (R)
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (Legal Newsline)-The Missouri Democratic nominee for state attorney general spent more on television spots than any other candidate on the statewide ballot, including presidential hopefuls Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain during the final week of the campaign, a report says.
State Sen. Chris Koster narrowly won his party's AG nomination, narrowly beating out Democratic state Reps. Margaret Donnelly, D-Richmond Heights, and Jeff Harris, D-Columbia.
Koster, who defeated Donnelly by less than 800 votes, spent at least $1.21 million over the last month to run 2,722 TV spots, TNS Media Intelligence-Campaign Media Analysis Group said.
The nonpartisan firm reported that Donnelly spent at least $138,796 on ads during the final campaign push, while Harris spent at least $220,487 during the final week, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Monday.
The final week of the campaign also featured 275 anti-Koster ads paid for by Koster's ex-wife, Rebecca Bowman Nassikas, who donated nearly $200,000 to a political action committee, Missourians for Honest Leadership, which opposed Koster's candidacy.
Although Koster spent the most of any statewide candidate in the last week, McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, aired 1,031 spots, the most of any candidate, but his ads were less expensive because they ran in lower-cost markets.
Koster, D-Harrisonville, will square off against Republican state Senate President Pro Tempore Michael Gibbons of Kirkwood in November's general election.
The candidates are vying to replace outgoing Attorney General Jay Nixon, a Democrat, who is running for Missouri governor.
From Legal Newsline: Reach reporter Chris Rizo at chrisrizo@legalnewsline.com.