The Kander campaign memo also criticizes Roy Blunt for not returning campaign donations from disgraced former Republican politicians, including former Speaker Dennis Hastert, who pleaded guilty to lying about financial transactions over hush money payments to students he allegedly sexually abused 40 years ago. Hastert has been in the news lately as his lawyers are trying to avoid federal prison time during the sentencing phase of his prosecution.

Snyder called those claims a diversion.

“Their decade-old, reheated attack strategy has been rejected by Missourians time and time again, but they will stick with it because they can’t talk about Jason Kander’s stance on the issues,” Snyder said.

Kander’s memo also argues that Blunt could be hurt by association with either of the Republican front-runners, Donald Trump or Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, at the top of the ticket.

In the memo, Hayden argues that “the enthusiasm behind both Donald Trump and Ted Cruz’s support is largely fueled by anger against Washington insiders like Sen. Blunt.”

Missouri Republicans say that Kander will suffer from the unpopularity of either Democratic presidential front-runner, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, or Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Blunt’s campaign in Missouri this week said Kander, as secretary of state, should take responsibility for voting problems during recent presidential primary and municipal elections. Democrats said Thursday that Blunt took the opposite position in 1991, quoting news reports of Blunt saying that a St. Louis School Board election dispute then was properly being handled by a local board of elections.

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