New GOP ads hit Nevada Democratic Senate candidate

The National Republican Senatorial Committee will air three new TV ads in Nevada targeting Democratic Senate candidate Catherine Cortez Masto during Tuesday night’s Republican presidential debate.

The ads will focus on the record of the former Nevada attorney general, who is running for the seat held by retiring Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

The TV spots will air in the Las Vegas and Reno markets on both English and Spanish language stations. 

The first ad scrutinizes Cortez Masto’s tenure as state attorney general, accusing her of taking dozens of privately funded trips around the world and using taxpayer dollars to pay for expensive hotels abroad. The ad is also available in Spanish.

{mosads}“All bought and paid for by special interest groups,” the ad’s narrator says. “Thirty-six trips, taxpayer-funded four weeks off each year. Pretty good gig if you can get it.” 

Another ad focuses on national security in the wake of last month’s Paris terrorist attacks and specifically knocks Cortez Masto’s support for accepting refugees into the country. The ad plays an excerpt of a news segment where she says she backs President Obama’s plan to allow more people fleeing Syria into the U.S.

“Tell Cortez Masto that we need a common-sense plan to defend the country,” the ad’s narrator says. 

Cortez Masto, who has Reid’s backing, will likely square off against Rep. Joe Heck (R-Nev.), who’s running for the GOP nomination. Early polls show that the two run neck and neck in a general election match-up.

Zach Hudson, spokesman for the Nevada Democratic Party, pushed back about the ad. “This is a typical misleading attack ad; the fact is that as Attorney General, Catherine Cortez Masto cut her office budget by thirty percent, and, when state workers were furloughed, stood with them and voluntarily donated tens of thousands of dollars of her salary back to the taxpayers,” he said.

“In contrast, Congressman Heck has consistently voted to protect perks for politicians like himself. Congressman Heck voted to allow Members of Congress to travel on private jets on the taxpayers’ dime and voted to shut down the government while still accepting his taxpayer funded salary.”

In addition to having the backing of Reid, Cortez Masto received early endorsements by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and EMILY’s List.

Democrats need to net five seats in order to regain majority control in the Senate. They need to defend 10 seats while Republicans defend 24.