mo_home

This campaign was negative from the start; neither attempted to stay above the fray. In a campaign flyer, Bond twisted the words of a local newspaper who said, Nixon would, "...would disembowel his grandmother for a headline." Nixon sent a cigarette-clad heckler to Bond events to emphasize his opponentÂ's vote against tobacco legislation. Both put a negative spin on their opponentÂ's fundraising links: Bond with the insurance industry, Nixon with trial lawyers.

Aside from trying to keep up with his opponent, Nixon faced a huge distraction - a splintered party base. African Americans, already feeling neglected by Democrats, urged national leaders to distance themselves from the Democatic nominee because Nixon pursued school desegregation with the Supreme Court. The NAACP picketed his events and some contributed to BondÂ's re-election bid. Knowing that blacks represent 20% of the party, Nixon worked to repair his relationship with the community. But, as he hammered his opponent on crime, Nixon inevitably offended their leaders again.

In early October, Nixon released an ad accusing Bond of releasing at least 500 prisoners, some murderers, from prison for good behavior. Nixon said Bond commuted hundreds of sentences, some of which were politically motivated. Nixon charged it was, "influence-peddling, pure and simple." Some blacks, most of whom already supported Bond, complained Nixon was fostering stereotypes by emphasizing that black criminals were among the inmates released. The Kansas City Star lambasted Nixon, saying "...[he] will sink to whatever level is necessary to seduce or bamboozle voters into supporting his ambitions. Any candidate who believes he has to appeal to racist themes to scare voters into turning away from his opponent does not deserve to win."
Kit Bond took advantage of this wedge and emphasized his support of affirmative action and commitment to bring jobs to poor neighborhoods. Nixon backers argue that Bond's voting record, most notably his opposition to the 1990 civil rights bill, is just election rhetoric. Nixon also hit Bond for his flip-flop on term limits. When Nixon announced his candidacy, he pledged to serve only two terms. Bond had also supported term limits in the past, but now sought a third Senate term.

For Nixon, the campaign has always come back to crime. He has worked to make sure voters know, as Attorney General heÂ's advocated the death penalty and sought to eliminate frivolous inmate lawsuits. One infamous case Nixon targetted, involves a prisonerÂ's demand for smooth peanut butter instead of chunky. On TV, both candidates have tried to portray themselves as more effective crime fighters.

NixonÂ's "negative" introduces voters to police officers who defend the candidateÂ's record in the face of attacks from Bond:
"Jay Nixon's been the toughest Attorney General in Missouri's history. Jay Nixon has been a national leader to create tougher laws against juveniles. ... We need a senator who will help us fight crime. That's Jay Nixon."

Sen. Bond also touted his performance in getting drugs out schools. BOND: "I know young people who've died from overdoses of drugs, and there's nothing that you can say to the parents that will ever explain to them why that tragedy occurred....This is a cancer. It's something that we've got to stop."

The Kansas City Star called the candidatesÂ' first debate a "mud wrestling match" and advised them to redeem themselves in future meetings. That night, they repeatedly called each a liar, hypocrite, and opportunist. Nixon rejected BondÂ's idea of donating $10,000 to a ChildrenÂ's Hospital, n exchange for an end to the dirty campaign. He said Bond was trying buy a "truce" to silence "the truth about [his] record," after spending $2 million in negative TV ads.

There was a strange variation on the Clinton factor in this race, in the form of a $1000 reward to both candidates if they would sign an affidavit pledging martial fidelity. Nixon agreed but, Bond, whoÂ's divorced, refused. He called it a political stunt orchestrated by a Nixon supporter, who it turns out had already given $1,000 to NixonÂ's campaign.

As the campaign drew to a close, Nixon took a final shot at Bond. Courtesy of the TV show, Inside Edition, voters see a Utah ski-bound Sen. Bond shove the videographer capturing the junket on tape. An announcer says, "This is Kit Bond, on another ski junket as investigated by national television... The same Kit Bond who raised premium on Medicare by $400 per year, while pocketing a $40,000 raise."

Once voters wipe off the layer of mud thatÂ's been thrown around in this race, Kit Bond just may emerge as the cleaner candidate.