By: Daniel Strauss
GOP Sen. Roger Wicker‘s reelection campaign is out with a new ad attacking state Sen. Chris McDaniel in Mississippi — even though McDaniel announced last week that he would switch from challenging Wicker to running for the seat being vacated by Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.).
The 30-second television spot starts out attacking McDaniel.
“Chris McDaniel did nothing to elect Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton. But McDaniel did attack the president and his policies as not conservative and Trump supporters as disturbing and delusional,” the narrator in the ad says.
During the 2016 presidential campaign, McDaniel initially backed Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas in the Republican primary. Supporters of Wicker and McDaniel’s opponents hope attacks like that will help frame McDaniel as an opportunist and a secret opponent of Republican Senate leadership and the Trump administration.
The ad then pivots to Wicker, with images of him and Trump standing next to each other.
“While Roger Wicker campaigned across the country for President Trump, passed tax cuts and confirmed conservative judges,” the narrator continues. “So it’s no wonder President Trump is endorsing Roger Wicker, because Roger Wicker is helping Donald Trump pass the ‘America First’ agenda.”
The ad follows a statement from Wicker himself saying that he would continue to treat McDaniel as a primary challenger for the foreseeable future.
“Until Sen. McDaniel removes his name from the ballot for this race, we have no choice but to continue our campaign as planned,” Wicker said in a statement Wednesday, the day McDaniel announced that he would switch Senate races.
Watch the ad here.
To view online:
https://www.politicopro.com/
Sarah Ulmer
