A2Z Printing is located just off U.S. Highway 18. It is housed within a one-story white building. The print shop has been used by the majority of Mississippi U.S. Senate campaigns in the printing of posters, yard signs and lapel stickers, as well as direct mail, postcards, fundraising letters, supporters, and other materials. Campaign-finance records reveal that only two major-party candidates are on the November ballot: state senator Chris McDaniel (R-Ellisville) and Tobey Barrtee from Gautier. Allen Taheri is the cofounder of A2Z. He says they don’t see Democratic Blue or Republican Red — only dollar green. According to records, campaigns spent $64,546 at Taheri’s shop in the current cycle. Taheri stated that “This is an impartial business.” “It’s purely built upon capitalism and that’s the way we run it.” Taheri stated that A2Z is the only state-owned print shop that can fulfill the demands of politicians during election season. He said that if you approached him and said you were running for office and needed 5,000 signs, the average turnaround time from a screen printing company would take between 2 and 3 weeks. “When you ask me that question, I’ll tell you that we can turn that job around in three days.” Taheri and Hootan Tabari invested in high-quality printers that can print thousands of yard signs in just two hours. Taheri and Tabari immigrated to the United States from Iran in 1980. They were engineering students and didn’t have any knowledge about politics or campaigning. However, they found a job in the printing industry to help both sides. Taheri stated that they have their political views, but don’t let them affect their business. “I am a Iranian citizen, and I believe there should be a separation between church and state. In business, there should be a separation between political and business beliefs. We treat everyone with respect and don’t care about their political views. This might explain why we’ve been successful in achieving the level of growth we have. In 2019, Mississippi’s governor seat and lieutenant governor seat are up for election. It is expected to be a highly competitive campaign, with the race predicted to be the most competitive in recent history. Every other state office, nearly 200 legislative seats, and 410 county supervisor positions, will also be up for election. Taheri predicts that A2Z will be used by every candidate for the statewide office. A2Z’s brand has grown to national prominence. A2Z has aired ads in North Dakota and South Dakota for campaigns, Florida, Georgia, and a few gubernatorial elections. Federal law requires that campaigns disclose how they spend donations. Campaigns must report on campaign literature as well as salaries for staff, consultants, meals and newspaper advertising. In the case of Sen. McDaniel, even replacing blown tires. Mississippi Today examined the campaign expenditures of every U.S. Senate campaign. Political-action committee expenditures for candidates were not included. Explore the map below and read more. We will keep updating it as new reports become available. The Federal Election Commission tracks candidates spending. According to the Federal Election Commission, Sen. Roger Wicker spent $2,817.104.22 in disbursements through his committee, Wicker For Senate. About 48 percent of all disbursements for this year were made to media consulting and ad buys. The Wicker for Senate spent $1,429 323, to Medium Buying in Ohio, which buys ad slots for campaigns. Harris Media in Texas, which is a digital advertising agency that helps to market on Facebook and Google, also paid $373 545. The second-highest spending of Senate candidates was $528,710 by David Baria (D-Bay St. Louis), Wicker’s opponent. Baria, like Wicker, spent about a third on media services. The Democratic candidate spent $132,706 (25 per cent) on consulting and hiring the Jackson-based Chism Strategies. U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde Smith spent $261,120 more than Mike Espy ($133 649) in the special election to replace Thad Cochran. President Donald Trump gave Hyde-Smith his endorsement. She spent around 10 percent of her money on web service, including $23,985 for Push Digital, which created her election website. Espy was a former secretary to agriculture under Bill Clinton. She had the lowest spending of all the Senate candidates, except Tobey Bartee who doesn’t have spending data on FEC’s website. This was before the spike of $86,025 of disbursements in June. Sixty percent ($80,400) of Espy’s spending went to research and fundraising consulting. Chism Strategies has been a partner in his campaign. State Senator Chris McDaniel (R-Ellisville) paid approximately a third ($33 502) of his funds for Anedot. Anedot is a Louisiana-based fundraising service. McDaniel also spent $2,000. on renting and maintaining his campaign bus._x000D