A pair of new TV ads backing Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Flake are on the airwaves as his campaign and supporters ratchet up efforts to persuade voters within days of ballots going out.
Flake’s campaign has a 30-second spot highlighting the six-term U.S. Congressman’s credentials as an “Arizona conservative.” The ad points out that Flake has “killed earmarks,” is a top opponent of the “Obama agenda,” and is endorsed by “every major conservative organization” and by “conservative leaders we trust.”
The ad features photos of U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., Sarah Palin, former Republican Vice President candidate, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., all of whom have endorsed Flake.
Then, the narrator says, “So, will we trust them? Or Wil Cardon?”
Flake appears on the screen and says, “You know me; I’m a conservative, an Arizona conservative, and I would really appreciate your vote.”
The ad is the latest in a fierce battle between Flake and his primary opponent, Mesa businessman Wil Cardon, to show voters they are the true conservative. Both have run previous ads either touting themselves as real conservatives or attacking the other’s conservative credentials.
The other new TV ad is from the conservative Liberty for All Super Pac, which bought $375,000 in ad time to air the spot in the Phoenix area. The ad targets Cardon for supporting ‘higher taxes’ and putting transponders in cars.
Cardon’s campaign said the Liberty for All ad is laced with lies. Cardon has signed a pledge that he will not support new or increased taxes, said spokeswoman Alyssa Pivirotto.
About his membership in the Urban Land Institute, Pivirotto said in a statement: “Just because he’s part of a trade organization with tens of thousands of other people does not mean he agrees with the ideas of a few people on the fringe.”
Pivirotto also pointed out that one of the two founders of Liberty for All recently pled guilty to DUI , and screamed he was “an anarchist” during the arrest, according to a police report cited in a Louisville Courier-Journal article.
“We also have to wonder if Congressman Flake knows who supports him,” Pivirotto said.
Flake and Cardon are joined on the Republican primary ballot by former Youngtown mayor Bryan Hackbarth and radio talk show host Clair Van Steenwyk, better known as ‘Van the Radio Man.’
The primary is Aug. 28, with early ballots going out Thursday.
The winner in the GOP primary will face Richard Carmona, the former U.S. Surgeon General who is unopposed in the Democratic primary, in the Nov. 6 general election.
Stay tuned to the Pueblo Politics blog throughout 2012 for news, updates and information about Arizona politics. You can follow Arizona Daily Star reporters Brady McCombs and Becky Pallack on Twitter.