Carnahan Launches Mailer That 'Speaks' to Voters

When was the last time an election mailer really spoke to Hazelwood voters? In the coming days, residents of Missouri's 1st Congressional District will have the opportunity to hear from a candidate.

Rep. Russ Carnahan's election campaign has launched a mail campaign featuring audio mailers, similar to a singing birthday card.

The card features audio of Rep. William Lacy Clay speaking in 2008 to the Association of Progressive Rental Organizations (APRO) at a convention held in St. Louis. The campaign also has launched a website to highlight Clay's connection to the payday loan industry.

This is Missouri’s first ever audio political mail piece. Carnahan campaign spokesperson Maurice Henderson said that a similar tactic was used in the Senate campaign against Christine O'Donnell, but it only featured a cackle, not a full audio clip.

“Mr. Clay has consistently made it clear his contributors’ interests are more important than those of his constituents,” Henderson said. “When there are so many people out of work, trying to find quality schools for their children, and struggling to get by day-to-day, we need our leaders to step up and commit to the community. Mr. Clay refuses to do that."

Carnahan currently represents Missouri's 3rd District. Due to the redistricting of Congressional districts after the 2010 Census, Carnahan and Clay now both reside in the 1st District.

The campaign is issuing 60,000 mailers accross the 1st District. Of those, 15,000 will feature the audio clip.

According to the Carnahan campaign, by the end of the second quarter, Mr. Clay had taken over $100,000 from predatory lending practices. In the mail piece, Clay states:

And one of the things that I’m most proud of is our success in advancing the vital interests of the of rent-to-own industry…I will always do my best to protect what really matters to [the Rent-to-Own industry].

“The people of the 1st Congressional District are ready to be represented by a leader – like Russ Carnahan – that will show up, stand up, and fight for them in Washington. They are sick and tired of failed leadership that prioritizes carrying the water for the very industries that are stripping wealth from our communities and crippling people with exorbitant interest rates for goods and services,” added Henderson. “Once again Mr. Clay has failed one of the most important tests of leadership—represent the people’s interests first and foremost.”

For more on the Clay/Carnahan primary, see our previous stories: