GOP senator touts ‘disagreements’ with Trump in ad

Sen. Pat Toomey is using a new TV ad to try to distance himself from Donald Trump as the GOP presidential nominee becomes embroiled in personal scandals.

The Pennsylvania Republican released a new ad Friday, titled “Independence,” touting his differences with the real estate mogul and pledging to stand up to whoever wins the White House.

{mosads}”I have a lot of disagreements with Donald Trump. I’ve been very clear about that,” Toomey says in the ad. “But what’s important for Pennsylvanians is having a senator who will stand up to any president’s bad ideas.”

The ad says that Katie McGinty, Toomey’s Democratic challenger, was “hand-picked by Washington political bosses.” Toomey has repeatedly argued that McGinty would not be willing to buck her party’s nominee, Hillary Clinton, if she is sent to the Senate.

“In Washington, if you don’t have some independence, some backbone, you might as well not even be there,” he added in Friday’s ad.

Toomey has stressed his independence from Trump after The Washington Post released a tape from 2005 in which the real estate mogul discusses groping and kissing women without their consent.

Though Toomey has not said if he will support Trump, McGinty has raced to link him to the growing allegations of sexual misconduct against Trump.

McGinty on Friday called Toomey’s ad “pathetic” and questioned if Toomey’s assertion that he has a backbone is “some kind of joke.”

“This ad shows the opposite of ‘backbone.’ It shows that Pat Toomey doesn’t have the courage to stand up to Donald Trump. I do, and that’s why we’re going to defeat Donald Trump and his partner Pat Toomey on November 8,” she said in a statement.

Toomey is the only vulnerable GOP senator up for reelection who has not said if he will back the top of his party’s ticket. The stance has earned him fierce criticism — and the nickname “Fraidy-Pat” — from Democrats.

His stance has also gotten national attention.

On Thursday, last-night host Jimmy Kimmel mocked Toomey’s stance, including a mock campaign ad that includes the Pennsylvania Republican flipping over if he supports Trump.

The senator is an increasingly tight race that will help determine which party controls the Senate majority next year. Democrats need to flip five seats, or four if they also retain the White House, to reclaim the majority.

McGinty and Toomey are in a statistical tie, even though Clinton leads the state by roughly 9 percentage points, according to a RealClearPolitics average of polling.