A radio ad comparing a Republican congressman’s record to Hurricane Sandy’s path of destruction has been pulled off the air.
Roll Call reported that Shelley Adler, a Democrat challenging Rep. Jon Runyan of New Jersey for his seat, has taken the ad off the air in the wake of the storm, which has left many New Jersey residents without power or water — and many without homes at all.
“They’re calling it Frankesntorm: a nor’easter inside of a hurricane,” says a narrator. “In New Jersey, we’ve seen acts of nature do real damage. We’re also seeing our own member of congress doing lasting damage in Washington. Jon Runyan has been in congress only two short years, and already he’s voted over and over again against New Jersey workers and families.”
The ad goes on to criticize Runyan for specific aspects of his record.
“Shelley Adler for Congress,” concludes the ad. “In the storms of Washington, she’ll fight for us.”
In a statement, Runyan campaign manager Kristin Antonello called the ad “ridiculous and insulting” and said that the Adler campaign should take it down and “publicly apologize” to people in the district, “many of whom have been devastated by Hurricane Sandy.”
“Shelley Adler’s campaign has been dishonest and nasty from the start, but she should be embarrassed by her decision to ever run this radio ad,” Antonello said. “It really brings her judgment into question.”
The Adler campaign said Runyan was attacking the ad to distract voters.
“What Congressman Runyan is trying to do is to divert attention from his record on disaster relief,” said Adler spokesman Michael Muller in a statement to Roll Call. “In the guise of calling attention to an ad, which in no way denigrates or minimizes the storm that was impending at the time it was released, he is trying to proactively turn his back on inspection of his record as it relates to disaster relief.”