For commuters who take what’s left of Highway 40 downtown, the smiling countenance of State House hopeful Mike Roberts Jr. is hard to miss. 
Roberts, son of developer and former alderman Mike Roberts, is super-sized to larger than life on a pair of billboards overlooking the interstate.
Turns out the price tag is pretty big, too: $25,000 total for both, according to Roberts’ campaign finance report.
The money, though, does not appear to be obstacle for Roberts, whose father has made a fortune in the hotel and real estate business. The bulk of his campaign chest comes from $56,000 Roberts Jr. has loaned himself. (He did, however, collect more than $7,700 in smaller donations.)
But what Roberts has in cash he lacks in establishment support among Democrats. Roberts has irked the party by challenging incumbent Rachel Storch — still with four years to go before she is effected by term limits — in the August primary.
Some have framed the race as a proxy battle between presidential rivals: Storch was Hillary Clinton’s state director, while the Roberts family were early and enthusiastic backers of Barack Obama.
For her part, Storch was able to raise about $55,000 from a contributor roster that includes Lyda Krewson, Jean Carnahan (whom Storch worked for in the U.S. Senate) and Clint Zweifel.
