Democrat Kate Marshall, who is running in the special election for Nevada’s open House seat, came out with two new television ads on Wednesday — one highlighting her own record and a second attacking that of her Republican opponent, Mark Amodei.
In the first ad, entitled “Common Sense,” Marshall touts her record as state treasurer, saving money by making common sense reforms, and says she will do just as well handling fiscal issues in Washington.
“In the Treasurer’s Office we were able to save millions of dollars simply by renegotiating contracts, by cutting expenses and increase services without raising taxes,” Marshall says in the ad.
“My job is to make sure that we have our middle class. I’m Kate Marshall, and I approve this message. I didn’t take a pay raise in Nevada and I won’t take one in Washington,” Marshall concludes.
That last line sets up her next ad, in which she attacks Mark Amodei for taking a pay raise.
“Amodei sponsored the biggest tax hike in Nevada history. One billion dollars on car repairs, movie tickets, even a tax on creating jobs. He evens admits it,” the ad says.
“And while Amodei was raising our taxes, he voted himself a pay raise.”
This has been the first negative ad of the campaign. Amodei’s own ads have been issue-based, focusing on the debt ceiling debate and jobs.
Republican consultant Robert Uithoven said that while “there’s obviously a risk in being the first to go negative,” Marshall had no choice.
“She has to drive the narrative of the difference between the two,” he said. “[Amodei] doesn’t have to,” continued Uithoven. “Mark Amodei is in what has historically been one of the safest Republican seats in the country.”
“I just, I think if Kate Marshall were to just talk about herself and her record, it wouldn’t be enough to win this race,” he said.
“The only chance a Democrat would have in winning this is energizing their base and somehow winning a huge amount of independents,” he concluded, and the way to rile up a base is to run these negative ads.
The National Republican Congressional Committee hit back at Marshall almost immediately, attacking her economic record and contending the veracity of the “Common Sense” ad.
“As a self-proclaimed ‘financial expert,’ Kate Marshall has overseen record-breaking unemployment and home foreclosures in Nevada,” said NRCC spokesperson Tyler Q. Houlton. “The fact that Kate Marshall brags about her failed economic record as the state’s top financial officer is a slap in the face to Nevada’s struggling families and small businesses.”
Amodei’s campaign quickly followed suit.
“Once again liberal Kate Marshall is trying to deceive voters,” blasted Communications Director Peter DeMarco. “She’s desperately hoping they won’t see her career of failure as a self-proclaimed ‘fiscal steward of Nevada.’ Mark Amodei is the only candidate in this race who opposes raising taxes, and has signed the Americans for Tax Reform pledge. Kate Marshall can’t make that promise, and here’s why,” DeMarco said, saying that she is the one who supports higher taxes, and that Amodei does not. Moreover, he says that the pay raise Amodei voted for was not set to go into effect until after he had been term-limited out of the State Senate.
“Clearly Kate Marshall is following the Harry Reid strategy of negative attacks – unfortunately for her none of what she says is true and the voters deserve better,” DeMarco concluded.
The Nevada Republican Party also lobbed an attack. Communications Director Mari Nakashima said: “Kate has been a consistent advocate to raise taxes in Nevada, the fact that she is trying to reintroduce herself as a friend to the taxpayer would be insulting to our intelligence if it wasn’t so utterly unbelievable. This is Marshall, once again, trying desperately to run on conservative principles that she simply doesn’t have in a district she obviously cannot connect to.”
WATCH: Marshall’s “Judge Me” ad
WATCH: Marshall’s “Common Sense” ad