By Simone Pathé
End Citizens United is launching two new ads Tuesday targeting New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte and Rep. Joe Heck, who is running for the Senate in Nevada.
The Democratic PAC has endorsed the Senate bids of New Hampshire Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan and former Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto.
The ad attacking Ayotte, titled “Town Hall,” features grass-roots members of End Citizens United in a staged town hall, where they tell an Ayotte impersonator — seen only from behind — they’d like her to protect Medicare and end tax breaks for big oil.
On the other side of the room, industry representatives discourage the senator from listening to the constituents.
“Kelly Ayotte … looking out for the other guys, not you,” the ad concludes.
The $1.4 million statewide television buy will air on broadcast and cable in Boston and Manchester, New Hampshire, from Aug. 16 through 29. The group has also added a $240,000 digital buy for the ad.
In Nevada, End Citizens United goes after Heck’s voting record in a $1.5 million statewide buy that includes broadcast and cable in Las Vegas and Reno. This is the first of two ads that will run from Aug. 16 through Sept. 2. The PAC also has added a $225,000 digital buy for the ad.
“Congressman Heck’s supporters pile on the cash. We pay the price,” the narrator says in the ad, titled “Cold Hard Cash.”
End Citizens United’s goal is to pass a constitutional amendment overturning the 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court decision, which deregulated corporate and union spending for or against specific candidates. It also wants to overturn the 2014 decision in McCutcheon vs. FEC, which struck down two-year aggregate limits on how much individuals can donate to candidates, parties and PACs.
Click here for the full article at Roll Call.