Sen. Arlen Specter is stepping up his attacks on Rep. Joe Sestak in the final days of the Pennsylvania Democratic Senate primary, targeting Sestak over gun control. As Greg Sargent reports, Specter is highlighting his vote against the assault weapons ban in the 90s and calling Sestak out for his “F” rating from the NRA.
The ads are running on the websites of local papers in rural Pennsylvania, away from the eyes of the key Democratic voters in the cities that might not find the ads a persuasive message for Specter.
“One wonders how this ad would play among urban Dems in Philadelphia,” Sargent writes. “If they ever were to hear about it.”
Sestak is doing his best to make sure those city voters do hear about it. This afternoon, he held a rally in Philadelphia where he, according to a press release advertising the event, he called on Specter to “take a clear stand on gun control.”
What’s more, Sestak’s campaign is distributing a copy of another web ad they say Republicans used in 2008 against President Obama that also focused on the “F” rating from the NRA. The Sestak campaign calls the two web ads “strikingly similar.”
Evan McMorris-Santoro
Evan McMorris-Santoro has covered politics for TPM since 2009. Before that, he was a reporter at National Journal’s Hotline covering election 2008. He started his career covering local politics at newspapers in TN and his native NC.
Facebook Conversations
Questions about commenting with non-Facebook accounts like Yahoo, or other concerns? Click here to read the TPM Commenting FAQ.