Udall ad in Spanish slams Gardner on veterans

Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) has launched a television ad in Spanish that accuses his challenger, Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), of cutting housing voucher funds for veterans.

“We respect their service. And we believe our veterans deserve the same respect when they return home,” a narrator says in Spanish at the start of the advertisement.

{mosads}”Congressman Cory Gardner and the Republicans in Washington: A misstep for our veterans, our community and our Colorado,” the narrator concludes.

The ad, which is being coordinated with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, claims that Gardner supported cutting the vouchers as part of a vote for a 2011 bill to fund the government. The plan included a provision that would have cut $75 million for housing vouchers for homeless veterans.

A Gardner campaign spokesman said the ad misrepresented that that many of the housing vouchers have been unused, making some of the allocated funds unnecessary.

“Senator Udall’s lies know no bounds – the Obama Administration informed Congress that there were unused housing vouchers from the previous year and no veterans would be left in the cold,” Gardner spokesman Alex Siciliano said in a statement.

The campaign advertisement will air on Spanish-language channels Telemundo and Univision through Nov. 4. The cost of the ad buy is being split evenly between Udall’s campaign and the DSCC.

The Colorado Senate race is one of the most competitive this cycle. Udall’s campaign is aiming to boost turnout among Hispanics, who make up nearly a quarter of the state’s population. 

– This story was updated at 6:09 p.m.