By Marshall Griffin, St. Louis Public Radio
Jefferson City, Mo. – Democrats in Missouri say a TV ad for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Chuck Purgason violates federal law, and they plan to file a complaint tomorrow with the Federal Elections Commission.
The ad in question was paid for by conservative icon Joe the Plumber, whose real name is Joe Wurzelbacher. Ryan Hobart is Communications Director for the Missouri Democratic Party.
"The committee that is referenced doesn't appear to be registered with the Federal Elections Commission," Hobart said. "It appears that some of the expenditures for it weren't reported, and there could be some potential trouble with in-kind contributions to Chuck Purgason's campaign with the creation of this ad."
Anita Andrews is in charge of volunteers for the Purgason campaign.
"Chuck is obsessive-compulsive about making sure every law is followed," Andrews said. "Since he didn't have anything to do with the ad, I can't believe that Chuck would be in trouble for anything."
Purgason is hoping to beat GOP frontrunner Roy Blunt in next week's Senate primary.
Joe the Plumber's ad endorsing Purgason is currently running on the website YouTube, and can be viewed by logging onto the web address below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxC5LRzMMtQ