Hartzler narrows funding gap in congressional race to unseat Skelton

Pulaski County Daily News ^ | 10/20/2010 | Darrell Todd Maurina

[darrellmaurina]

(Oct. 20, 2010) — Republican candidate Vicky Hartzler spent most of her campaign for Congress this year as a financial underdog. Faced with the daunting prospect of running against 17-term U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Hartzler raised $497,000 during the primary election season and spent most of it to defeat State Sen. Bill Stouffer, who raised almost as much money in a hard-fought primary battle. Until recently, campaign finance reports showed Skelton had raised $1.9 million and spent only $773,000 of his warchest, mostly on radio and television ad buys questioning Hartzler’s commitment to the military and promotiing his history of bringing large amounts of money to military installations in his district such as Fort Leonard Wood and Whiteman Air Force Base. Hartzler is used to underdog campaigns; in her 2004 role as spokesman for a constitutional amendment barring gay marriage in Missouri, her campaign for traditional marriage was overwhelmingly outspent by her opponents but the amendment still won by a large margin. That underdog picture for Hartzler changed dramatically in recent weeks, however.

[centurion316]

I know Ike Skelton personally, he’s a very nice man and a friend of the military. But, he does not represent the members of his district. In exchange for his committee chairmanship, he has sold his soul to Nancy Pelosi and he does her bidding. He votes for issues in which he does not believe because he finds power more important than principle. He will probably win in the end, but I hope not.

[Outlaw Woman]

Skelton’s time is up. Hartzler sounds terrific; she was on Mark Levin’s program yesterday and if that district (4th) is as conservative as what is being reported, she should win because Skelton’s voting record is surfacing. Skelton voted with Pelosi on almost everything including cap & trade. That district is rural/agriculture and relies heavily on coal and C & T will decimate them. I don’t think Skelton has really had any serious competition since he’s been in; this year is different.