Veterans ads boost Dem candidates in Iowa and Massachusetts

VoteVets Action Fund, a veterans advocacy group, is spending $1.25 million on new ads to help a pair of candidates in top-tier races.

On Tuesday the group unveiled television and radio ads for Iowa Senate hopeful Rep. Bruce Braley (D) and a commercial for Democrat Seth Moulton, who defeated Rep. John Tierney (D-Mass.) in a September primary. 

The ads couldn’t come at a better time for Braley, who is in a toss-up race against Republican Joni Ernst.

She and other conservative groups have spent months charging Braley missed a majority of the meetings held by the panel that oversees the scandal-plagued Veterans Affairs Department.

The TV spot features Clair Harper, a World War II veteran, and Ione Shadduck, who served in the Women’s Army Corps during the Korean War. 

The pair trade lines throughout the ad, saying, “A lot has changed, especially politics. When New York billionaires attack a good man like Bruce Braley, that’s wrong. As the son of a Marine, Bruce always fights for vets. He helped hundreds of troops get overdue combat pay. Trust us. Bruce is on our side.”

The ad will run for one week at a cost of $550,000. The group is also dropping $100,000 to reserve radio time, bringing the total price tag to $650,000.

The national group is doling out another $600,000 on a television ad in Massachusetts supporting Moulton, an Iraq War veteran, and comparing his positions against GOP nominee Richard Tisei.

“Who will bring fresh leadership to Congress? A career politician who votes against funds for veterans? Or a courageous veteran who served four tours in Iraq?” a female narrator asks over pictures of the candidates.

“Who will stand up for us? A politician who supported allowing insurance companies to charge women more than men? Or a new leader who will fight for pay equity for women?” she continues.

She concludes by asking, “Who will try to fix a broken Congress? Richard Tisei who praised the Tea Party as a godsend? Or Seth Moulton, an inspiring leader praised for his service?” 

“The clear choice,” text says next to a photo of Moulton in action in Iraq.

The cable and broadcast ad will run for more than a week, according to the group. The latest buy puts the group’s total investment in the House race at more than $1 million.