Illinois governor ensnared by Missouri governor's sex scandal

Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens (R) is under investigation by the St. Louis circuit attorney over an extramarital affair he admitted to on Wednesday night, after a local news channel obtained audio of the woman telling her then-husband that Greitens had taken a photo of her bound and partially naked and told her that if she mentioned his name, "this picture will be everywhere."

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The investigation is bad news for Greitens, but it's also unfortunate for Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R), whose most-broadcast re-election ad prominently featured Greitens, Politico reports.

The ad, which also included the Republican governors of Wisconsin and Indiana, was aired almost nonstop in Illinois, Politico says, citing ad spending data showing that Rauner spent $1.3 million to broadcast the ad more than 3,100 times. Since October, in fact, it was in the Top 5 most-aired political ads nationwide. Not anymore. "We're removing it from all of our digital assets," Rauner campaign spokesman Will Allison told Politico. The ad is also being removed from YouTube.

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After Greitens admitted to the affair but denied the blackmail allegations, a bipartisan group of state legislators urged Attorney General Josh Hawley (R) to investigate. Hawley said St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner has jurisdiction over the case, and Gardner announced her criminal investigation on Thursday afternoon.