A Republican senator, whose compliment was featured in a Claire McCaskill campaign ad, rescinded his praise this week and asked the Missouri Democratic senator to remove his name and image from the ad.
The newest McCaskill ad, titled "Independence," trumpets her moderate record and her history of working across the aisle. "It's why Republican Senator Pat Roberts said, 'if you want to pick somebody to work in a bipartisan manner ... to get things done — you pick Claire McCaskill," the ad's narration says, over a picture of the Kansas Republican and McCaskill.
But Roberts, who has endorsed McCaskill's Republican opponent Josh Hawley, took back the remark and asked for his name, image, and quote to be removed from the ad.
"Senator Claire McCaskill’s days of bipartisanship are long over," Roberts said in a statement issued through the Hawley campaign. "On critical issues over the last year, I’ve watched her vote to raise taxes on Missourians and oppose conservative judges including Judge Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court. I’m very disappointed that she’s sided with her party’s leadership and opposed the Trump Administration against the best interests of Missouri at every turn."
"When President Trump was elected, she made it her mission to obstruct the administration’s agenda. Higher taxes. Liberal courts. That’s not what Missourians want," he continued.
When asked by the St. Louis Dispatch Tuesday whether she had asked Roberts permission before using his statement in her ad, McCaskill said she had not. "I meant to. I saw him on the [Senate] floor, but I have not talked to him," she said.