Rosen chided in ads by GOP-allied groups on tax cuts and business background
Two Republican-friendly groups unveiled ads against Senate Democratic candidate Jacky Rosen that seek to call her out for opposing Republican tax cuts and claiming that she had a consulting business, charges that she has rebuffed.
The two ad campaigns, which cost $1.2 million combined, are similar to ones released last week by the same two groups. One Nation is a Virginia-based conservative nonprofit public policy advocacy organization with ties to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and Karl Rove. The Senate Leadership Fund is a Super PAC affiliated with McConnell.
The ad from One Nation pounced on Rosen’s vote against GOP tax cuts enacted late last year. The campaign cost $800,000 and will run statewide on a combination of broadcast and cable television, radio and digital platforms. Besides attacking her for opposing the tax cuts, it also chided her for voting with House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, and called on her to support a Republican proposal to make tax cuts for individuals and families permanent.
“Congresswoman Jacky Rosen voted with Nancy Pelosi against the historic tax cuts that are helping Nevada's families and businesses," said One Nation President and CEO Steven Law. "Rosen needs to start listening to her own constituents instead of Nancy Pelosi —and vote to make tax cuts permanent.”
Rosen campaign spokesperson Molly Forgey dismissed the attack as a payoff to Sen. Dean Heller for supporting the tax cuts, which she argued go disproportionately to corporations and the wealthy.
“Senator Heller's big money allies are rewarding Senator Heller for his tax bill, which is a giveaway to giant corporations that will cause millions of regular families to pay more for health care and adds nearly $2 trillion to the national debt,” Forgey said. “Jacky supports extending tax cuts for the middle class, but this tax law is out of balance and disproportionately benefits CEOs and the ultra-wealthy at the expense of Nevada’s hardworking families.”
The ad released by the Senate Leadership Fund attacks Rosen for her claims that she started a business before entering politics. The campaign cost $450,000 and will run in the Reno media market on a combination of broadcast and cable television, radio and digital platforms.
“The only thing Jacky Rosen has built in Nevada is a record of lies," said Senate Leadership Fund Spokesman Chris Pack. "Rosen has no business representing the people of Nevada in the U.S. Senate -- especially with her extreme Nancy Pelosi-approved voting record."
Rosen’s campaign has argued that the attack has no merit. Rosen’s campaign previously released an ad earlier this month in response to Heller’s allegation that she lied about having a business. She ran a consulting business between 1993 and 2002 that served two main clients, Southwest Gas and Radiology Specialists, according to her campaign.
“This is another spineless attack and a clear sign of desperation from Senator Heller and his Republican allies in Washington,” Forgey said. “They can’t win on the issues, so they’re trying to distract voters by repeating debunked attacks on Jacky’s career and lying about her record of bipartisan leadership working across the aisle in Congress.”