Leading Off:
• NE-02: Republican Rep.
Lee Terry and the NRSC recently made news for portraying Democrat Brad Ashford as weak on crime, airing a pair of
controversial spots. Terry is doubling down in his newest ad.
Terry features Sgt. John Wells, president of the Omaha Police Officers Association, hitting Ashford for supporting the Good Time Law. Wells argues that Ashford's policies can get people killed by releasing violent criminals out onto the streets. Terry's poll numbers are reportedly shaky, and his party is worried about him, which helps explain why he's running these types of ads. Also for the GOP, Fuels America praises Terry for his support for alternative fuels.
On the other side, Ashford hits Terry's negative ads. Ashford features a quote from the Omaha World Herald vouching for Ashford on public safety.
Head below the fold for a roundup of campaign ads from races around the country.
Senate:
• AK-Sen The GOP has been hitting Democratic Sen. Mark Begich's record as mayor of Anchorage and in the Senate, and Begich is pushing back. His new spot praises his record in city hall and his bipartisanship. Put Alaska First is also spending another $676,000 for Begich. On the GOP side, the Cooperative of American Physicians is spending $235,000.
• AR-Sen: The NRSC hits Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor on job creation, arguing he's out of touch with the middle class. Also for the GOP, Cooperative of American Physicians spends $383,000 while Crossroads GPS hauls out $438,000.
• CO-Sen: Ending Spending invests another $1.4 million against Democratic Sen. Mark Udall. The NRSC (here and here) also ties Udall to Obama, accusing him of having the wrong priorities: The group just spent $200,000 here. On the Democratic side, the SEIU has two Spanish spots (here and here), while the International Association of Firefighters spends $258,000.
• GA-Sen: Both sides have been committing more resources to this race in recent days, and the GOP aligned Ending Spending is now committing another $1 million. The NRSC also once again ties Democrat Michelle Nunn to Obama. On the other side, EMILY's List continues to argue that Republican David Perdue's company discriminated against women while he was in charge.
• IA-Sen: On the Democratic side, VoteVets praises Democrat Bruce Braley's work for veterans. Braley himself has also been pushing back on the GOP's attempts to caricature him as someone who did nothing during the VA scandal.
For the GOP, the NRSC ties Braley to Obama, while claiming even Obama thinks Braley is too extreme on taxes. The NRA also ties Braley to Michael Bloomberg on guns. Also for Team Red, the Cooperative of American Physicians spends $248,000 while American Heartland PAC spends $355,000.
• KS-Sen: Republican Sen. Pat Roberts continues to tie independent Greg Orman to Obama. This time, just to shake things up, Roberts also goes positive, promoting himself as someone who stands up to Obama. Orman himself highlights his business record, once again portraying himself as a problem solver.
• KY-Sen: Kentuckians for Strong Leadership continues to portray Democrat Alison Grimes as a raging liberal.
• LA-Sen: American Crossroads argues Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu is fine voting for benefits for undocumented immigrants while cutting Medicare Advantage. They also throw in a few jabs at Landrieu's Washington residency, continuing to portray her as someone who has left Louisiana behind. The group just spent $480,000 here.
• NC-Sen: For Team Blue, the DSCC keeps hitting Republican Thom Tillis on women's health. Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan also pushes back on GOP attacks that claim Hagan used stimulus money to help enrich her family, while arguing that Tillis is the one who is unethical.
Speaking of those GOP attacks, the NRSC again hits Hagan on her stimulus vote. The John Bolton SuperPAC (which is exactly what it sounds like) also spends $233,000 for the GOP.
• NH-Sen: Concerned Veterans claims Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen is lying about her work on veterans. The NRSC also argues Shaheen has a spending problem.
• SD-Sen: Republican Mike Rounds' new spot stars Sen. John Thune, who offers some pretty generic praise. The NRSC also portrays Democrat Rick Weiland as a reckless liberal.
Gubernatorial:
• AZ-Gov: The RGA continues to go after Democrat Fred DuVal as a tax-lover, and as weak on immigration.
• CO-Gov: The DGA-backed Making Colorado Great has two spots (here and here). The first hits Republican Bob Beauprez as an unethical banker, while the second again hits him on women's health.
• CT-Gov: National Shooting Sports Foundation argues Democratic Gov. Dan Malloy is unreasonably anti-gun. They claim that groups like them support the safe use of guns, and that Malloy is unfairly demonizing them. The ad does not reference the Newtown shooting at all, and the whole thing comes across as more than a little tone deaf. The spot reportedly only has $54,000 behind it.
• FL-Gov: The Florida GOP has two spots (here and here). The first is a Spanish ad starring former Gov. Jeb Bush, while the second praises Republican Gov. Rick Scott for helping fellow veterans. On the other side, NextGen Climate contrasts Democrat Charlie Crist's record on fighting polluters with Scott's, once again accusing Scott of doing the Koch Brother's bidding no matter who gets hurt.
• GA-Gov: The RGA continues a GOP ad campaign that hits Democrat Jason Carter on education. They also throw in jabs at Obamacare, while claiming that Carter has never passed a bill in the state Senate.
• HI-Gov: The DGA-backed Hawaii Forward hits Republican Duke Aiona on education and abortion.
• IL-Gov: In a rare positive ad, Republican Bruce Rauner touts his newspaper endorsements. In a common negative ad, Rauner has a Spanish ad hitting Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn.
• KS-Gov: The RGA goes after Democrat Paul Davis on taxes.
• MA-Gov: The RGA-backed Commonwealth Future PAC praises Republican Charlie Baker as a moderate who supports abortion rights and gun safety. Not the typical ad you'd see from a GOP group, but this is Massachusetts after all.
• ME-Gov: The RGA touts Republican Gov. Paul LePage's jobs record.
• MI-Gov: Republican Gov. Rick Snyder praises his record, saying he's turned the state around. The heavenly choir music in the background is an interesting touch.
• OK-Gov: Democrat Joe Dorman hits Republican Gov. Mary Fallin on education, tying her to the state's controversial superintendent Janet Barresi.
• RI-Gov: For the first time, national Democrats are getting involved in what has been seen as a likely Democratic win. The DGA-backed Alliance for a Better Rhode Island hits Republican Allan Fung's record as mayor of Cranston, arguing that Fung mismanaged a police scandal.
• WI-Gov: On the Democratic side, EMILY's List continues to go after Republican Gov. Scott Walker on abortion, also hitting him for his support on transvaginal ultrasounds. Democrat Mary Burke also argues Walker has done little as governor during the job crisis. Walker himself touts his college tuition freeze, while arguing Burke opposed it.
House:
• AR-02: Crossroads GPS spends $481,000 for the GOP.
• AZ-02: The ads from Democratic Rep. Ron Barber (here and here). The first goes after Republican Martha McSally on abortion rights, and the second is a Spanish spot tying McSally to the tea party on education.
On the GOP side, the Congressional Leadership Fund ties Barber to Pelosi. Interestingly, it argues that his revered predecessor Gabby Giffords was a true independent who had the guts to vote against Pelosi. McSally also goes after Barber on Obamacare.
• AZ-09: Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema touts her work on women's equality.
• CA-07: Congressional Leadership Fund hits Democratic Rep. Ami Bera on Obamacare.
• CA-26: The American Future Fund praises Republican Jeff Gorell as a moderate while arguing Democratic Rep. Julia Brownley is too partisan.
• CT-04: Democratic Rep. Jim Himes.
• FL-02: Sometimes you don't even need to watch the ad to know what it's about. The Congressional Leadership Fund does what basically every GOP group in this race has done, and ties Democrat Gwen Graham to national the national party.
• GA-12: The Congressional Leadership Fund portrays Democratic Rep. John Barrow as and ineffective Obama-Pelosi lapdog.
• IA-04: Republican Rep. Steve King argues that Democratic opponent Jim Mowrer is weak on security.
• IL-13: Democrat Ann Callis.
• LA-06: The GOP-leaning Environmental Defense Action Fund spends $114,000 for Garret Graves, one of the many Republicans running in the November jungle primary.
• MA-06: The pro-Democratic VoteVets contrasts Democrat Seth Moulton with Republican Richard Tisei. They frame this race as between a courageous new leader and a conservative politician. On the GOP side, American Unity PAC praises Tisei as a moderate.
• MI-11: Republican Dave Trott.
• NH-01: The Congressional Leadership Fund portrays Democratic Rep. Carol Shea-Porter as a partisan hack.
• NJ-03: Crossroads GPS continues to portray Democrat Aimee Belgard as fiscally irresponsible. The group just spent $543,000 here.
• TX-23: Latino Victory Project hits Republican Will Hurd in a Spanish spot.
• WI-06: Democrat Mark Harris does what so many Democrats nationwide should have done a long time ago (cough, Bruce Braley, cough) and runs an entire ad based on his opponent's crazy statements.
The narrator describes how Republican Glenn Grothman says pre-school causes physiological damage, how he called single parents child abusers, and opposed equal pay legislation. The ad also has the lovely Grothman quote, "Money is more important for men." Harris then appears at the end promoting his work cutting spending and debt.
Harris' fundraising has been weak, and this 53-46 Romney seat is a tough district for Team Blue. Still, Democrats everywhere should take Harris' lesson to heart: If your opponent has a record of saying and doing crazy things, use their antics to your advantage, don't just ignore them or kind of mention them.
• WV-02: Democrat Nick Casey argues Republican Alex Mooney is a fraud. The second half of the spot features Sen. Joe Manchin appearing with Casey and vouching for his conservative credentials.
• DCCC: The Democrats recently announced they were deploying a combined $1.8 million to six five Democratic-held seats: AZ-02; IL-12; IA-01; IA-02; MN-07; and MN-08. We also have new ads in FL-02; FL-26 (here and here); IL-12; IA-01; and NH-02. All except for FL-02 are Democratic-held.
• House Majority PAC: Eight new Democratic ads, with the size of the buy listed in parentheses. House Majority PAC is going up in CA-36 ($85,000); CA-52 ($319,000); FL-18 ($212,000); GA-12 ($137,000); IA-03 ($147,000); MA-06 ($102,000); NH-01 ($103,000); and NH-02 ($272,000). All but IA-03 are Democratic held.