Ad Roundup:
• NH-Sen: The NRSC argues that under Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan, college tuition has spiked.
• NV-Sen: While Democrats have run some Spanish ads tying Republican Joe Heck to Donald Trump, this is the first time that Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto is doing it in an English-language spot. The commercial starts with clips of GOP Gov. Brian Sandoval and Sen. Dean Heller saying that they’re not backing Trump. A recent clip is then played where a reporter asks Heck if he’s “completely supporting” Trump, and Heck responding, “I am.” Heck is then asked if he trusts Trump “having his finger on the nuclear button?” and Heck replies, “I do.”
Like a recent Ted Strickland ad in Ohio, this commercial doesn’t actually feature any clips of Trump saying anything offensive or reckless, which is a problem. It’s a good idea to establish right off the bat why Trump is so unacceptable and why it’s problematic that Heck supports him, rather than just trusting the audience to already hate Trump enough to make the association themselves. It doesn’t help that the (admittedly few) polls we have of Nevada show Trump locked in a tight race with Hillary Clinton, so it doesn’t seem like enough voters instinctively want to reject Trump and anyone who stands with him.
Meanwhile, the DSCC continues to attack Heck for voting to defund Planned Parenthood. Heck argues that, as a veteran, he’s someone voters can trust.
• PA-Sen: Republican Sen. Pat Toomey argues that while he fights corporate welfare, Democrat Katie McGinty got rich off the corporate system. Senate Majority PAC features a clip of Toomey praising a trade agreement.
• MO-Gov: Chris Koster reminds voters that he’s the rare Democrat who has the backing of the Missouri Farm Bureau, with the narrator describing him as “a fiscal conservative with an A-rating from the NRA.”
• CO-06: Republican Rep. Mike Coffman argues that Democrat Morgan Carroll helped sleazy clients in the legislature that she worked for as a personal injury lawyer.
• ME-02: House Majority PAC once again portrays Republican Rep. Bruce Poliquin as a Wall Street ally who is out of step with Maine.
• NE-02: The NRCC argues Democratic Rep. Brad Ashford voted against military funding and voted to stop airstrikes on ISIS. CULAC the PAC, which is the actual name of the political arm of the Credit Union Legislative Action Council, praises Ashford for being a bipartisan leader. The size of the buy is $250,000.
• VA-05: In her first spot, Democrat Jane Dittmar talks about her business background and creating jobs.
• VA-10: Republican Rep. Barbara Comstock is up with her first spot, where her daughter argues that Comstock works hard for her constituents. Politico reports that the size of the buy is $100,000.