On the heels of New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte's debate gaffe, calling Donald Trump a role model for children then quickly backtracking, the Ayotte campaign quickly released a new ad further distancing herself from the Republican nominee, but she may have created a new problem for herself.
"Standing Up" shows Ayotte walking and talking to the camera: "Let's be honest. Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are far from perfect. And I'm not perfect either."
From there, she aims to position herself as an independent, bipartisan problem solver. "But when partisan politicians shut down the government, I led to fight to reopen it."
It's true that Sen. Ayotte eventually broke with conservatives who provoked a shutdown in order to fight funding of Obamacare. But the leader of the shutdown fight was Sen. Ted Cruz. And on the day this ad was released, Ayotte was in Texas at a fundraiser for Senate candidates hosted by Cruz.
After Politico reported on the incongruity, Ayotte's opponent for re-election, New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan, blasted the incumbent, saying she "feigns criticism of Ted Cruz."
Ayotte has a difficult challenge. Unlike her initial election, she's trying to win re-election in a presidential year when Democratic turnout is expected to be robust. She's trying to both animate her conservative base and appeal to New Hampshire's sizable centrist vote. She will need to be more artful in executing that two-step if she's to survive the campaign's home stretch.
"Standing Up" shows Ayotte walking and talking to the camera: "Let's be honest. Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are far from perfect. And I'm not perfect either."
From there, she aims to position herself as an independent, bipartisan problem solver. "But when partisan politicians shut down the government, I led to fight to reopen it."
It's true that Sen. Ayotte eventually broke with conservatives who provoked a shutdown in order to fight funding of Obamacare. But the leader of the shutdown fight was Sen. Ted Cruz. And on the day this ad was released, Ayotte was in Texas at a fundraiser for Senate candidates hosted by Cruz.
After Politico reported on the incongruity, Ayotte's opponent for re-election, New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan, blasted the incumbent, saying she "feigns criticism of Ted Cruz."
Ayotte has a difficult challenge. Unlike her initial election, she's trying to win re-election in a presidential year when Democratic turnout is expected to be robust. She's trying to both animate her conservative base and appeal to New Hampshire's sizable centrist vote. She will need to be more artful in executing that two-step if she's to survive the campaign's home stretch.