Following on the heels of recent news that Donald Trump will campaign in Alabama for Sen. Luther Strange on Saturday, the White House also confirmed to Politico that Mike Pence will head down to the Yellowhammer State to join the campaign stump with Strange on Monday. Strange's camp is increasingly pulling out all the stops as he tries to overcome former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore's polling lead in next Tuesday's Senate special election Republican primary runoff.
Fundraising and ad support have always been a major advantage that Strange has had thanks to the adamant backing of establishment Republicans, and the NRA is the latest GOP-leaning group to air a new ad on his behalf. The NRA calls "Big Luther" Strange the only candidate who will be 100 percent for gun rights, repeatedly emphasizing their endorsement of the incumbent while calling Moore weak on gun rights. They reportedly plan to spend a "seven figure" sum on the new spot.
Meanwhile, the Mitch McConnell-aligned Senate Leadership Fund debuted a new ad that more vigorously attacks Moore. The spot blasts Moore for having "grabbed headlines and cashed in" by paying himself $1 million from a charity ran. SLF excoriates him for laying of 170 court workers while taking two pay raises for himself during his first stint on the state's high court in 2001. They continue by calling Moore out for more recently criticizing Trump's plan to build a border wall, after which they pointedly emphasize that Trump doesn't support Moore in this race.