Pryor Hits Cotton With New TV Ad

Sen. Mark Pryor (D) is already primed to hit the airwaves with a new 60-second TV ad that raises questions about Fourth District Cong. Tom Cotton’s voting record.

Cotton (R) is poised to announce his U.S. Senate run on Tuesday (Aug. 6) at a community BBQ dinner in his hometown of Dardanelle.

Pryor’s new TV ad, which you can view at the bottom of this post, hits Cotton for running for higher office “just 7 months after being sworn into office,” while a graphic flashes “blind ambition.”

The ad cites votes by Cotton against a version of a national Farm Bill, claims he wants to “turn Medicare into a voucher system,” and is pushing to privatize Social Security. The ad also says Cotton voted for higher interest rates on student loans, against the violence against women act and against equal pay, and to allow insurance companies to deny coverage for pre-existing conditions, which was a fundamental component of the Affordable Care Act.

“Tom Cotton should be running – not for higher office – but running from his own record of hurting the people of Arkansas,” the narrator says. The ad is paid for by Mark Pryor for Senate.

Politico reports that the Pryor campaign has purchased a $45,000 TV ad buy in the Little Rock, Fort Smith and Jonesboro media markets. It begins airing Monday night (Aug. 5).

Pryor campaign manager Jeff Weaver tells Politico, “We hope to frame the race early. People don’t know enough about Tom Cotton, I mean, he’s only been in Congress a few days. We felt that it is important let Arkansans see the real Tom Cotton. The ad will highlight what Tom Cotton has done in the short amount of time he has been in Washington.”

Cotton’s political director, Rep. John Burris, tells Talk Business that Pryor should spend his money defending his own record.

“It’s a desperate attempt by the Senator to distract the voters from his agreeing with Barack Obama 90% of the time. He should spend his money instead explaining to the voters of Arkansas why he voted for Obamacare, amnesty for illegals, and the failed stimulus program,” said Burris.

You can view the TV ad below.