By John DiStaso
May 6, 2021
(WMUR) – THANKING NH SENATORS. Sen. Maggie Hassan, who’s up for reelection next year, and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen are being thanked for their support of the For the People Act in a new television ad by the progressive advocacy group End Citizens United/Let America Vote Action Fund.
The joint group is the 501(c)(4) lobbying and advocacy arm of End Citizens United/Let America Vote PAC. The group, which merged in early 2020, advocates campaign finance reform and an expansion of voting rights.
Both are addressed in the bill, which has passed the House and is now under review in the Senate.
The Senate Rules Committee is scheduled to mark up S.1 on Tuesday and report it to the full Senate. Whether the Senate actually holds a vote will depend on whether Majority Leader Chuck Schumer believes all 50 Democratic senators are in support, which would mean passage with the decisive vote of Vice President Kamala Harris.
Hassan and Shaheen are both strongly in support of the bill, and they have taken strong issue with Secretary of State Bill Gardner’s position that, if passed, it would supersedes key state election laws and place the future of the first-in-the-nation presidential primary in peril.
The ECU/LAV Action Fund ad does not mention the primary or that rift. It says the bill would “crack down on corruption” and “take on dark money.”
The action fund says it is spending “nearly $1 million” on the ad campaign, which will include broadcast, cable and streaming platforms.
According to public documents on file with the Federal Communications Commission, ECU/LAV Action Fund has so far booked $99,000 in advertising time on WMUR-TV for this week and nest week.