GOP group launches $1 million ad campaign pressing Kelly on filibuster

One Nation, a GOP outside group, is launching a $1 million ad campaign pressing Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) to more vocally support the Senate filibuster as the issue splits Democrats in the upper chamber.

The digital ad effort from the organization urges Kelly to take a stronger stance on the 60-vote filibuster, comparing him to Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), one of the filibuster’s most vocal advocates among Senate Democrats.

“We need bipartisanship in Washington, but radical liberals want to change the rules in the Senate so they can ram through their extreme agenda on partisan lines,” a narrator says in the ad, which was obtained exclusively by The Hill. 

“Sen. Kyrsten Sinema says no way. But Sen. Mark Kelly won’t say where he stands, dodging questions, making excuses,” the narrator adds. “Sen. Kelly, this isn’t rocket science. Stand with Sen. Sinema against the liberal partisans.” 

The ad is just the latest salvo in an ongoing battle between Democrats and Republicans over the filibuster, under which most legislation needs to win 60 votes to pass in the Senate.

Progressive Democrats have advocated for the filibuster’s abolishment, saying it is hindering progress on a slate of liberal priorities like voting rights, infrastructure and more. However, Sinema and West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin (D) have pushed back, saying they would not support changing Senate rules on the filibuster. 

“My support for retaining the 60-vote threshold is not based on the importance of any particular policy. It is based on what is best for our democracy. The filibuster compels moderation and helps protect the country from wild swings between opposing policy poles,” Sinema wrote in a Washington Post op-ed Monday.

Discussions over the filibuster reached a fever pitch again this week as Democrats plan to vote on landmark voting legislation. While Manchin has not definitively said how he’d vote, the bill would only get 50 votes with his support, falling short of the 60 votes it needs to overcome a filibuster and again angering liberals who see the rule as a chief obstacle to their agenda.

Kelly in particular is being squeezed by Republicans over that and other issues as he faces a tough reelection fight next year. The former astronaut has largely kept mum over the filibuster, saying he would consider any Senate rules changes but would not just look out to help Democrats.

“What I’m open to is considering and looking at any proposed changes in the rules. And I will ultimately make a decision based on: Do I feel — is this in the best interest of the state of Arizona and the country?” he told NBC News. “And I’m not looking for something that is in the best interest of just Democrats.”

Kelly won his Senate race in November to serve the remainder of the late Sen. John McCain’s (R) term and will be up again next year to serve a full term of his own. His seat in purple Arizona is considered a top pickup opportunity for Republicans, who are trying to win back control of the Senate from Democrats, who now hold a narrow 50-50 majority.

“Mark Kelly has been a U.S. Senator for months, but still doesn’t believe he owes Arizonans a straight answer on this important issue. This isn’t rocket science – it’s time for Senator Kelly to tell us whether he stands with liberals who would end the filibuster to ram through far-left policies, or whether he stands with leaders in Arizona’s moderate, independent tradition like Senators Kyrsten Sinema and John McCain,” said One Nation President Steven Law.

Still, Kelly proved in 2020 to be a juggernaut of a campaigner, hauling in nearly $100 million for his Senate bid and ousting incumbent Sen. Martha McSally (R) in a state that had long been a bastion of conservatism.

Kelly’s Senate office directed The Hill to his campaign, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding One Nation’s ad.