An abortion rights group on Thursday launched a $300,000 digital ad buy in three critical Senate races tying vulnerable Republicans to GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump on women’s issues.
{mosads}NARAL Pro-Choice America unveiled three new ads, shared first with The Hill, knocking Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), Rep. Joe Heck (R-Nev.) and Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and linking them to Trump’s past comments on abortion.
In March, Trump sparked a political firestorm when he told MSNBC’s Chris Matthews that if abortion was illegal, women who get an abortion should face “some sort of punishment.”
The real estate mogul later walked back those comments, clarifying that only abortion providers should be punished.
NARAL says it used a new model to target voters who are considered “persuadable,” based off polling that found seven in 10 voters believe abortion should be legal.
“While they may use different words than Trump, they are advocating for the exact same policies,” said Sasha Bruce, NARAL’s senior vice president of campaigns and strategy.
“They want to ban abortion, restrict access to contraception and fight against equal pay. This is their shared agenda. For women and families it is dangerous, reckless and scary.”
Democrats and Republicans are in a heated battle over gaining control of the Senate majority next year.
Democrats need to net four seats and retain the White House if they want to regain the upper chamber. The party is defending 10 seats, while Republicans need to defend 24 seats.
Ayotte faces a tough reelection battle against New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan (D). Toomey also faces a difficult race, against former gubernatorial chief of staff Katie McGinty (D). Heck will square off against former Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto (D) for Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid’s seat.