The pro-Trump group America First Policies is making good on its threats to air television ads against a fellow Republican, Nevada Sen. Dean Heller, over his public opposition to the GOP leadership’s health care bill — even though Senate Republicans now plan to vote after a July 4 recess.
The 30-second narrated television ad depicts President Donald Trump and Heller — and does not mince words: “Call Senator Heller. Tell him America needs him to keep his promise: Vote ‘yes’ to repeal and replace Obamacare.”
The group expressed no regrets on running the ad, despite Senate Leader Mitch McConnell’s announcement midday Tuesday that the Senate vote on the health care bill would be delayed until after the July 4 recess while leadership makes changes to the proposal in hopes in gaining more senators’ support.
“What we regret is that Americans have been suffering under Obamacare for the better part of a decade, and these senators couldn’t get to yes before the July 4 recess,” said Erin Montgomery, a spokesperson for the group.
But one Republican source close to the health care process told CNN that the Heller ad was a key error.
“That was not the right thing to do,” the source said, adding the move alienated senators. “You can do that to a House member. You cannot do that to a senator,” the source added.
A person involved in the group told CNN that it was investing $1.3 million on television, radio, and digital advertisements against the Nevada senator, though an FCC filing shows just a $33,000 buy so far on KOLO-TV in Reno. The purchase shows 68 televisions spots for three days, starting Tuesday.
As the midterm elections approach in 2018, Heller is up for re-election — in a state that Hillary Clinton won during the 2016 presidential election. Heller is the fifth senator to publicly oppose the Senate’s version of the health care bill as written.
“It’s simply not the answer,” the Nevada Republican said last Friday at a news conference alongside Gov. Brian Sandoval in Las Vegas. “And I’m announcing today that in this form, I simply will not support it.”
On Monday the group tweeted: “We won’t hold back. Americans need to know @SenDeanHeller is blocking the #RepealAndReplace of FAILING Obamacare!”
During the White House briefing Monday, press secretary Sean Spicer was asked about the unusual move to attack a member of its own party. He said he had not seen the advertisements, but that the President has contacted Republican senators who oppose the bill.
“I would just suggest that we want to do what we can from a White House perspective to continue to reach out and work with them,” Spicer said.
America First Policies also plans to run cable and digital ads after Democratic senators in West Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, North Dakota, Virginia, Missouri, Indiana, and Montana, a spokeswoman for the group said Monday.
Trump won all but one — Virginia — of the eight states where ads will run. The ad will run between June 27 and June 29.