Already on the hot seat over unpaid taxes and state reimbursements for her husband’s private plan, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) now faces her toughest attack ads on the issue yet — her own.
In 2004, McCaskill successfully challenged against Democratic Gov. Bob Holden in a primary and made his use of a state-funded jet a recurring issue in ads. The TV spots are now coming back to haunt her after Politico’s Ben Smith posted two of them on Monday.
“Bob Holden’s 336 taxpayer funded trips on a private jet — $1,270 per hour,” a voiceover in the ad says. “Replacing him with a Democrat who will win in November — priceless.”
A second ad also raised the jet issue and included a tagline for McCaskill reminiscent of Southwest Airlines’ “You are now free to move about the country” slogan.
McCaskill recently handed over $88,000 to the Treasury Department to pay for flights on her plane that had been covered by taxpayers. Last month, McCaskill announced that she had also discovered she owed $287,000 in back taxes on the plane, which she has since paid.
Benjy Sarlin
Benjy Sarlin is a reporter for Talking Points Memo and co-writes the campaign blog, TPM2012. He previously reported for The Daily Beast/Newsweek as their Washington Correspondent and covered local politics for the New York Sun.
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