Kasich slams Cruz over ‘New York values’ comment in new ad

Republican presidential hopeful John Kasich blasted rival Ted Cruz for his “New York values” comment earlier this year in a new ad targeting the New York City area.

{mosads}“Ted Cruz sneered at our New York values,” a narrator says in the ad.

The spot then plays a clip of Cruz saying, “I think most people know what exactly what New York values are. I got to say they’re not Iowa values and they’re not New Hampshire values.”

Cruz made the comment back in January when he was attacking party front-runner Donald Trump for being too liberal.

“Ted Cruz divides to get a vote. John Kasich unites to get things done,” the narrator continues.

On Thursday, Cruz refused to back down from the remarks, saying that he only meant to target New York liberals.

“The people that I was talking about are the liberal New York Democrats who have hammered this state,” he said in an interview with “Good Morning America.”

Kasich, who both Cruz and Trump have said should leave the race given his poor showing in most states, is making a big push in the Empire State. He is a distant second in polls in the state, according to the RealClearPolitics average of polls, and is ahead of Cruz. In the latest New York poll released this week, Kasich leads third-place Cruz by 8 points, but is still 27 points behind Trump.