If Democrats are going to take control of the House in the 2016, they're going to need to dislodge conservative Republican Rep. Scott Garrett from his swing district, the New Jersey 5th. It has a very slight Republican lean – Mitt Romney beat Barack Obama by 3 points there in 2012 – with a mix of middle-class social conservatives and wealthy socially liberal Wall Street executives.
Garrett didn't deny the report for months, but more recently has insisted he only refuses support candidates who support marriage rights for gays. Still, several Wall Street banks, including PNC Bank, Goldman Sachs, Capital One, BBVA Compass, U.S. Bancorp and Nomura Holdings, have renounced their support for Garrett.
The Democratic House Majority PAC aims to exploit the Republican divide in a new ad titled, "Quotes" since it's full of quotes repudiating Garrett.
After quickly describing the Politico story, the narrator offers editorial reactions from the Star-Ledger and Bergen Record, including "repugnant" and "a shameless bigot." The latter quote is then put on an image of a billboard, including a tag line designed to appeal to those socially liberal bankers: "Scott Garrett: Bad for Business. Wrong for New Jersey."
The ad does not mention Garrett's Democrat opponent Josh Gottheimer, but presumably he's fine with that. If the race becomes a referendum on Garrett's social views, the incumbent will have a hard time surviving in his moderate district.
Rep. Scott Garrett Reportedly Won't Support Gay Candidates
But Garrett roiled the Wall Street corner of his district in July 2015, when Politico reported he told fellow members of the House Republican Caucus that he hadn't paid dues to the National Republican Congressional Committee "because it actively recruited gay candidates."Garrett didn't deny the report for months, but more recently has insisted he only refuses support candidates who support marriage rights for gays. Still, several Wall Street banks, including PNC Bank, Goldman Sachs, Capital One, BBVA Compass, U.S. Bancorp and Nomura Holdings, have renounced their support for Garrett.
The Democratic House Majority PAC aims to exploit the Republican divide in a new ad titled, "Quotes" since it's full of quotes repudiating Garrett.
A Democratic Ad In Which Wall Street Is The Good Guy
"Businesses are horrified by his bigotry against gays" the narrator reads from the local Star-Ledger newspaper, and "financial firms have publicly distanced themselves from Garrett" he shares from the Bergen Dispatch. The quotes are displayed over an image of Wall Street, making this perhaps the first ad of the 2016 cycle in which Wall Street is the good guy.After quickly describing the Politico story, the narrator offers editorial reactions from the Star-Ledger and Bergen Record, including "repugnant" and "a shameless bigot." The latter quote is then put on an image of a billboard, including a tag line designed to appeal to those socially liberal bankers: "Scott Garrett: Bad for Business. Wrong for New Jersey."
The ad does not mention Garrett's Democrat opponent Josh Gottheimer, but presumably he's fine with that. If the race becomes a referendum on Garrett's social views, the incumbent will have a hard time surviving in his moderate district.