Will Schmitt

WSCHMITT@NEWS-LEADER.COM

JEFFERSON CITY — Sen. Claire McCaskill isn't backing off from her opposition to dark money in politics, even after a nonprofit that isn't required to disclose its donors spent $500,000 to support her.

Last week at a town hall in Springfield, the Missouri Democrat acknowledged that she faces a tough race for re-election in 2018, spoke in favor of campaign finance reform and urged her audience to ignore messaging from outside groups.

"This is a Republican and Democratic problem," she said then. "There will be ads supporting me that you won't know who paid for.

"If it doesn't say 'paid for by the candidate,' and if there isn't a disclaimer that says 'I approve this message' or my opponent approves this message, ignore it. Pay no attention to it. It's probably not true."

With such statements, McCaskill effectively put an asterisk on the half-million dollars in radio advertising the Majority Forward PAC recently spent to support her over the next month. This political action committee is a nonprofit connected to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Politico reported Tuesday.

A conservative group was quick to point out that Majority Forward traffics in "dark money," a term used to describe political contributions that don't have a publicly identified source.

"If they won't tell you who paid for it," McCaskill continued last Friday, "why should you listen? That's the way I look at it."

When dark money has been talked about in Missouri recently, it's usually been in conjunction with the fundraising activities of Gov. Eric Greitens, who received almost $6 million from unidentified contributors during his successful campaign. Greitens, who also has refused to say how much donors contributed to his inauguration, now is supported by a friendly nonprofit that doesn't have to disclose its contributors.

"Certainly McCaskill should be held to the same standard as the governor," said Scott Sloofman, rapid response director with America Rising, an organization that tracks and films Democratic politicians and candidates. "If she's going to blast dark money one week and benefit from it the next, without saying a word, that's news."

Sloofman said in an email that his group was "focused on pointing out the hypocrisy."

But John LaBombard, a McCaskill spokesman, said the senator stands by what she said in Springfield and disputed the claim that McCaskill was being a hypocrite.

LaBombard noted in an email that McCaskill "has no actual control over this kind of ad buy," given that she can't coordinate with the Majority Forward PAC. He also pointed out that she voted in favor of the DISCLOSE Act in 2012, which would have required companies and unions that spend money on politics to reveal their donors.

By LaBombard's count, conservatives have invested almost $2 million in advertising against McCaskill this election cycle.

It is unclear who her Republican opponent will be, though U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner and Attorney General Josh Hawley both have been mentioned as possibilities. It's also unknown whether McCaskill will face a primary opponent.

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