Republican gubernatorial candidate Dave Spence has begun running a TV ad linking Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon to President Barack Obama.
The ad that began airing Tuesday criticizes the Democratic governor for implementing Obama's economic stimulus act in Missouri and shows pictures of Obama and Nixon together. Spence's ad claims that the stimulus has failed and that Missouri's economy is poor.
Nixon's campaign manager claimed Spence is running a "dishonest and desperate" campaign. Nixon asserts that Missouri's economy has been improving.
Spence's move to more aggressively link Nixon to Obama mirrors the approach that Republicans have taken in challenging Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, as well as in other races.
