Democrats are pouncing on Sen. Kelly Ayotte after the New Hampshire Republican called Donald Trump a role model for children in a debate Monday night, as they try to link the vulnerable GOP incumbent to the party’s presidential nominee.
Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan’s campaign to unseat Ayotte released a web ad Tuesday tying her remarks to a string of Trump’s controversial comments on women, including an ongoing rhetorical battle with former Miss Universe Alicia Machado, whom he has criticized for gaining weight.
{mosads}Hassan added that Ayotte’s support for the White House contender is “deeply concerning.”
“Senator Ayotte’s statement during the debate that she ‘absolutely’ would point to Trump as a role model for children speaks for itself and was a revealing moment that she cannot take back,” she said in a statement.
The ad is part of an ongoing six-figure digital media buy geared toward female voters, whom Trump has struggled to win over.
Ayotte, who says she supports Trump but will not endorse him, tried to clarify her remarks
after the debate.
In a statement, she said, “Neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton have set a good example and I wouldn’t hold up either of them as role models for my kids.”
But Democrats have seized on the verbal gaffe, arguing it underscores that, despite a string of controversies, GOP senators still support Trump.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) called Ayotte’s clarification a “pathetic attempt to walk back her national news-making assertion.”
“What hasn’t she walked back? Her support for Donald Trump as the next commander-in-chief,” the party’s Senate campaign arm said in a release Tuesday.
NARAL Pro-Choice America announced Tuesday that it is launching a new digital ad in New Hampshire over Ayotte’s “role model” comments.
Sasha Bruce, the pro-abortion rights group’s senior vice president for campaigns and strategy, said Ayotte’s comments reveal her “true feelings” about Trump and should “terrify every voter.”
Kathy Sullivan, a Democratic National Committee committeewoman and former New Hampshire Democrats chair, also dismissed Ayotte’s clarification.
“Kelly Ayotte should explain to people of New Hampshire exactly what about Donald Trump she thinks children should emulate,” she told reporters Tuesday. “The sexism? The ripping off of small business? Insulting our nation’s heroes?”
New Hampshire state Sen. Donna Soucy added that by continuing to back Trump, Ayotte is signing off on him being “de facto … the highest role model for children.”
“Ayotte supports this sexist bully and conman for president of the United States, with all the powers and privileges that position confers upon its occupant, including role model in chief to a nation of children,” she told reporters.
The liberal American Bridge PAC also blasted Ayotte, saying she has turned into “the GOP’s worst nightmare with one word.”
“Enough with the political double speak. Anyone who says that Donald Trump is a role model … has fully endorsed him and his extreme agenda,” the group added in a note to reporters. “There’s no denying it: Senator Ayotte is a card carrying member of the Party of Trump.”
GOP incumbents have tried to walk a fine line on Trump as they defend 24 Senate seats: keeping distance from his streak of controversies while also refusing to cut ties completely and risk alienating a conservative base that they’ll need to win reelection.
Monday night’s comments aren’t the first time Ayotte has broken with her party’s nominee. She
told the New Hampshire Union Leader that she doesn’t believe he’s always been honest or trustworthy.
Ayotte and Hassan are in a tight battle in the Granite State, with recent polls showing the GOP senator with a slight edge within the margin of error.
Democrats have spent months trying to link Ayotte and other vulnerable Republicans in purple states to Trump. They believe the businessman will negatively impact down-ballot races and could help nationalize prominent Senate races.
Democrats need to win back fives seats — or four if they also retain the White House — to regain a majority in the Senate. The New Hampshire race is likely to be pivotal in determining which party controls the upper chamber next year.
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