Former Rep. Nan Hayworth (R-N.Y.) who is looking to unseat a gay member of Congress, is touting the support of her gay son in a new ad.
“When I hear viscous negative attacks against Nan Hayworth, I have to speak out,” says Will Hayworth in the ad, first reported on by the New York Daily News.
{mosads}“Nan Hayworth is no extremist. She’s my mom; she’s kind; she’s compassionate; she’s always been there for me,” he adds. “And she’ll always be there for you.”
Hayworth is looking to win her seat back in a rematch with openly gay Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D), who defeated her in 2012.
Hayworth’s ad comes as Democrats have sought to tie her to conservative Republicans and argue she is out of step with the New York district.
House Majority PAC, a Democratic group, called her a “Tea Party Radical” and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee ran an ad that hit Hayworth for saying that she’s “proud to be a radical.”
As the GOP looks to gain seats in a favorable midterm year, it is betting on Hayworth to retake her old seat. The National Republican Congressional Committee included her in its “Young Guns” program, signaling confidence, and recently paid for one of her ads.
Maloney’s campaign has spent almost $3 million to stave off Hayworth, whose campaign has spent almost $2 million. There hasn’t been a recent nonpartisan poll, but Hayworth’s internal polling shows the race tied.