👀 @leahvukmir's billionaire megadonor-funded super PAC goes negative on @KevinMNicholson. #wisen #wiright pic.twitter.com/K59VNtlDc2
— WI-SEN Watch (@wisen_watch) July 10, 2018
In what's perhaps the least-surprising attack ad in the 2018 Republican primary season, Wisconsin Next PAC, which is supporting state Sen. Leah Vukmir for U.S. Senate, is reminding conservatives that Vukmir's primary opponent Kevin Nicholson was once prominent in the Democratic Party.
Wisconsin Next PAC Digs Up Kevin Nicholson's Star Turn at 2000 Dem Convention
Twenty years earlier, Nicholson was elected president of the College Democrats of America and spoke at the 2000 Democratic National Convention. Nicholson says he voted for George W. Bush in 2004 and John McCain in 2008, but he was still a registered Democrat in 2008.The Wisconsin Next PAC ad cannily features clips from the 2000 convention speech in which he declares "we care about a woman's right to choose" and the "Democratic Party shares our values."
But the ad is misleading by omission about when that speech was given. The narrator says Nicholson "addressed the Democratic National Convention" while showing images of Hillary Clinton. Those images are all from 2000, but the narrator doesn't mention that, allowing for some viewers to assume they are from 2016.
Nevertheless, the ad uses the clips to sow distrust. The narrator says, "President Trump needs an ally he can trust in the U.S. Senate. That's not Kevin Nicholson" and "Kevin Nicholson, we can't trust him."
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Vukmir, in contrast, is described as a "consistent conservative" and is pictured standing next to Republican Gov. Scott Walker (Walker has not endorsed Vukmir, but his wife has and his son works on the Vukmir campaign.)Nicholson had to know his DNC clips would eventually resurface in the campaign. Now he'll have to make his case to Wisconsin GOP primary voters that his party switch was genuine.