Farmers defend Braley in new ad

The Senate Majority PAC is out with a new ad seeking to shore up Rep. Bruce Braley’s (D-Iowa) standing with farmers and blue-collar workers following fallout over his “farmer from Iowa” comments.

{mosads}In the ad, two men who appear to be farmers tout Braley’s family farming roots and defend his character, implicitly refuting concern that his gaffe shows he’s out of touch with Iowa farmers.

“We don’t pay attention to what people say, we look at what they do,” one says. “Bruce led the fight to pass a new farm bill and he’s been a leader on renewable fuels. So people can say what they like, but we know Bruce and we know he’s got our back.”

Braley had been viewed as a front-runner in the open-seat race to succeed retiring Sen. Tom Harkin (D). But a recent video that surfaced of him deriding Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) as a “farmer from Iowa” who’d be less qualified to be on the Senate Judiciary Committee than him have dealt his campaign a setback.

The Senate Majority PAC, Democrats’ main Senate super-PAC, has previously aired ads supporting Braley. But their turn to shore up his standing with farmers shows they’re worried about the gaffe’s fallout. The group is spending about $200,000 on the ad.

Braley announced Thursday that he raised $1.25 million and has $3.1 million cash on hand for the race. Republicans are still battling through a crowded primary to determine their nominee.