Planned Parenthood’s political arm is launching its largest ad buy so far this cycle against Alaska’s freshly minted Republican Senate candidate.
Planned Parenthood Action Fund debuted its digital ad campaign against Dan Sullivan less than 12 hours after the GOP establishment pick won his primary to challenge Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) in November.
{mosads}The effort seeks to highlight Sullivan’s opposition to abortion, government funding for Planned Parenthood and ObamaCare’s birth control coverage mandate.
The ads are now appearing on social media and several prominent Alaska news sites, including the Alaska Dispatch.
“Dan Sullivan would let the government control what you do with your body,” reads one ad. “Dan Sullivan supports banning nearly all abortions for Alaska women,” reads another.
Dawn Laguens, executive vice president with Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said the group is “wasting no time” getting out its message.
“The road to an anti-abortion Senate runs through Alaska — and with the support of our volunteers, supporters, and donors, Planned Parenthood Action Fund will not let Dan Sullivan drive us down that road,” Laguens said in a statement.
The hard-driving campaign points to the fierce competition for centrist female voters in states where Senate Democratic incumbents are in danger.
Planned Parenthood and its allies are expected to spend nearly $20 million this election cycle to keep the Senate in Democratic hands.
Anti-abortion-rights activists, meanwhile, are launching a counter-attack against incumbents over their refusal to support banning abortions after 20 weeks.
That effort is centered in North Carolina, Louisiana and Arkansas, though the National Republican Senatorial Committee has also singled out Begich on the issue.
“We will continue to expose Begich’s extreme record on abortion, which includes the promotion of late-term abortions — a radical position that puts him at odds with voters, including women,” said NRSC spokeswoman Brook Hougesen.
Sullivan, the former commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, won his primary late Tuesday night by 8 points.
On abortion, he believes the procedure should only be available in cases of rape, incest or when the woman’s life is in danger.
Sullivan has also praised the plaintiffs in the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision, which allows some for-profit companies to refuse to cover birth control for workers on religious grounds.
The National Right to Life Committee endorsed him Wednesday in a statement.
“Dan Sullivan has been an outspoken leader in the fight to protect innocent human lives in Alaska,” said Carol Tobias, National Right to Life president. “Dan Sullivan will bring his strong pro-life leadership to the U.S. Senate.”
This post was updated at 5:15 p.m.