Attack Ads Take Center Stage in Republican U.S. Senate Race

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- With less than a month until the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, it appears the gloves have come off.

St. Louis businessman John Brunner has clearly been the aggressor with series of attack ads on rivals Sarah Steelman and Todd Akin. Brunner says ads are nothing personal.

"I have no issues personally. But I tell you what I do have issues...is the bad votes, the bad policies and the bad directions that they have did in their respective times while they were serving either in the congress or the state legislature."

Sarah Steelman says fellow candidate Brunner used junk bonds and other financing to keep his business afloat. She says she has successful experience as a state senator and State Treasurer.

"He's attacking me, when here in Missouri, I balanced the budget and I kept our Triple-A rating as State Treasurer."

Candidate Todd Akin says Brunner is running a negative campaign.

"And my belief is that you have a guy that's memorized political talking points, he's run them on ads all this time, and it's not really working. He's afraid he's going to lose, and so he's going to come try and push other people down."

Steelman, Brunner and Akin square off in the August primary to win the right to try and unseat incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill.

All three Republicans participated in a debate in St. Louis Friday night.