McCain Spanish ad: He’s needed in Senate ‘now more than ever’
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) released new Spanish language radio and TV ads Monday, looking to expand his lead in the Senate race by appealing to Arizona’s growing Hispanic population.
In a radio ad released Monday, two women have a phone conversation in Spanish. One says, “Watching the news. I don’t know who am I going to vote for president,” and the other replies, “Me neither. But I know that we need John McCain in the Senate now more than ever.”
{mosads}Democrats have attacked McCain on his immigration record as part of their national effort to tie down-ballot candidates to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s unpopularity with Hispanic voters.
In May McCain acknowledged that with Trump at the top of the ticket, this could be “the race of my life.”
But unlike some vulnerable Republicans in tight races, McCain endorsed Trump but has spoken out against the nominee’s harsher statements on immigration and Hispanics.
Most notably, McCain rebuked Trump for questioning Judge Gonzalo Curiel’s objectivity due to his Mexican heritage.
Monday’s TV ad touts McCain’s immigration record — he was a member of the Gang of Eight that passed comprehensive immigration reform through the Senate in 2013.
Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.), who is challenging McCain for his Senate seat, responded Monday with a press release highlighting McCain’s vote against the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act of 2010, his support for Arizona’s strict SB 1070 immigration law and support for Trump.
“The fact that John McCain must think Arizona Latinos don’t understand what he’s said in English just goes to show how long he’s been in Washington and how out of touch he is after 33 years,” said immigration activist Yuri Gutierrez in Kirkpatrick’s release.
McCain has consistently outperformed Kirkpatrick in the polls and seems to be expanding his lead. An NBC/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll released on Sept. 11 showed the incumbent with a 19-point lead over his challenger.
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