Blackburn targets former Bredesen supporters in new ad that calls liberal positions a "non-starter"
Tennessee Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn is taking aim at her Democratic opponent in the state’s Senate race, former Gov. Phil Bredesen, with a new television spot that targets potential GOP cross-over voters.
Bredesen, who won two terms as governor in 2002 and 2006, will need a coalition that includes his former Republican supporters if he wants to win over a state as red as Tennessee. The new Blackburn spot, obtained first by NBC News ahead of its Thursday release, talks to those voters specifically by arguing his liberal policies are a "non-starter."
"I voted Phil Bredesen for governor, I supported him, but I can't support Bredesen for Senate," supposed voters take turns saying in the new Blackburn ad.
"Bredesen opposes building the wall, he supports ObamaCare. Bredesen opposed Trump's tax cuts, that's a non-starter for me."
The voters go on to hammer Bredesen for ties to Washington Democrats, including one woman audibly groaning in disgust after another says Bredesen gave "Crooked Hillary tons of money."
During the 2016 election, Bredesen gave $2,700 to Democrat Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and $33,400 to the Hillary Victory Fund, her campaign's joint fundraising committee with the national party and state parties.
Blackburn allies have long argued that Bredesen is too liberal for a state that President Trump won by 26 points in 2016. Most of Blackburn's advertising dollars during the general election so far have been spent on ads looking to appeal to the partisan side of Tennesseans, amplifying Trump's praise of her and his criticism of Bredesen during a recent swing through Tennessee. Bredesen has sought to counter that with ads that keep partisan politics at arms reach—one recent television ad from the Democrat brushes aside partisan attacks as "flat out lies" from Washington, while a digital ad from earlier this year includes the Democrat speaking directly to camera to say "I'm not running against Donald Trump, I'm running for a Senate seat" and arguing that he will back Trump when he has good ideas for Tennessee.
The two candidates have been locked in a tight battle in a state that hasn't elected a Democratic senator in almost thirty years. Bredesen held a two-point lead, within the margin of error, in the August NBC/Marist poll of the race. Both candidates had overwhelming support from voters within their own parties, with Bredesen holding a 4 point lead with independents.