Cotton Rolls Out New TV Ad With Drill Sergeant

A new week, a new ad in the U.S. Senate race.

Republican Senate challenger Cong. Tom Cotton debuted a new ad featuring his former drill sergeant. The ad takes aim at a recent comment from Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Pryor, who ignited some controversy over Cotton’s military service in a March MSNBC interview.

In the interview, Pryor said Cotton deserves respect and appreciation for his military service, but he gives off a “sense of entitlement” that his military duty qualifies him for the U.S. Senate.

From the MSNBC interview:

Reporter: So how do you view his [Cotton] two tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq in the context of that?

Pryor: I have total respect for that. I appreciate that. I will never criticize anyone for serving our country and I say thank you for that.

Reporter: But you don’t see it as a qualification to become a Senator?

Pryor: Uhhhh, no. There’s a lot of people in the Senate who didn’t serve in the military. I mean, no. Obviously in the Senate we have all kinds of different people, all kinds of different folks that have come from all kinds of different backgrounds. I think that’s part of this sense of entitlement he gives off. It’s almost like, ‘Well I served my country, so let me be in the Senate.’ Well that’s not how it works in Arkansas. It’s probably not how it works in other states either.

Cotton’s new ad features a back-and-forth with his drill sergeant, George Norton.

“From the first day of boot camp, I knew Tom Cotton was a hard worker who demonstrates the values of integrity and selfless leadership that we teach in the Army,” Norton said in the ad. “No one who’s ever met Tom would get the idea that he felt ‘entitled’ to anything. Tom always put the unit ahead of himself, and he was an excellent soldier. I’m confident he’ll be an excellent U.S. Senator as well.”

Cotton replied, “I didn’t learn a ‘sense of entitlement’ growing up on my family’s cattle farm in Yell County, where I was taught that most things in life come through hard work and determination. And I certainly didn’t learn a ‘sense of entitlement’ in the Army, where I was taught the values of duty, honor, teamwork, and leadership. Those are the values I plan to take to the U.S. Senate if the voters of Arkansas choose me to be their next Senator.”

Cotton’s campaign press release says that Pryor has not retracted or apologized for his “entitlement” remarks and it highlights several media outlets that were critical of the comments. Pryor’s campaign has asserted that the comment was intended to suggest that military service alone is not a singular qualifier for the Senate.

The new Cotton ad is airing statewide. You can watch it below.