Republican senator asks McCaskill campaign to remove him from ad

Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill's re-election campaign was asked by Republican Sen. Pat Roberts to remove his quote in a recent campaign ad touting her independence as a lawmaker.  (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)

Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill’s campaign sought to paint her as a bipartisan politician with a recent ad that includes a quote from one of her Republican colleagues – but the move seems to have backfired.

The ad quotes Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts saying, “If you want to pick somebody to work in a bipartisan manner … and get something done – you ask Claire McCaskill.”

But in a statement released by McCaskill’s GOP opponent, Roberts asked McCaskill to remove him from the 30-second ad, saying her “days of bipartisanship are long over.”

“On critical issues over the last year, I’ve watched her vote to raise taxes on Missourians and oppose conservative judges including Judge Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court. I’m very disappointed that she’s sided with her party’s leadership and opposed the Trump administration against the best interests of Missouri at every turn,” Roberts said.

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Roberts affirmed his support for Republican nominee Josh Hawley and said McCaskill “made it her mission to obstruct the [Trump] administration’s agenda.”

Fox News has ranked the race between McCaskill and Hawley, Missouri’s attorney general, a tossup. McCaskill has held the Senate seat since 2007.

McCaskill told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch she didn’t speak to Roberts before using his quote in the ad.

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“I meant to. I saw him on the [Senate] floor, but I have not talked to him,” she said.

The ad also points to McCaskill’s work with President Trump on legislation aimed at combating the nation’s opioid epidemic and helping veterans. The Post-Dispatch also noted McCaskill has worked with GOP senators, including Roberts, on other bills.