National Democratic political committee launches ad framing Republican congressional candidate as 'dangerous'
A new ad from a Democratic political committee targeting former professional wrestler and Republican congressional candidate Dan Rodimer argues that he’s “something much worse” than “just a big meathead.”
The 30-second television ad went live in the Las Vegas media market Tuesday as part of a six-figure ad buy launched by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). Rodimer is running against Democratic incumbent Susie Lee, who has held the competitive Southern Nevada-based seat since 2019.
The ad’s title comes from an interview Rodimer did with Fox News, where the candidate attempted to assure viewers his background as a wrestler does not mean he’s “just a big meathead.” The ad also references multiple reported incidents from Rodimer’s past, including 2010 assault accusations, an arrest warrant which described him as “armed or dangerous,” and calls to the police made about domestic disturbances. It features images of Rodimer overlaid with police reports.
Rodimer’s campaign manager, Ed Gonzalez, condemned the new ad as a pattern of “baseless attacks.”
“These same baseless attacks didn’t work when they were tried against Rodimer earlier this year in his primary, and they won’t work now,” he told The Nevada Independent. “The fact is, Dan Rodimer was arrested once in his life, standing up to a bully in college on a Halloween night. That charge was dismissed, he has zero criminal convictions and no criminal record,” he said.
Lee launched her own six figure ad buy earlier this month with a similar focus to the DCCC campaign, accusing Rodimer of maintaining “an alarmingly violent rap sheet.”
Rodimer has been running online ads targeting Lee since his primary victory in June, including a four-minute video released Monday with the tagline “America is Hungover from Democrat Policies,” which features a tiger, an Elvis impersonator, and Rick Harrison of Pawn Stars fame.
Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District is considered Republicans' best chance to flip one of the state’s three Democrat-held House districts, given the only 3 percent difference in active registered voter numbers between the two parties.