Pence to target three vulnerable Senate Dems in new ads: report

Vice President Pence is taking aim at three vulnerable Democratic senators, portraying them as opposing forces to the White House in an upcoming TV ad buy, according to Politico.

Pence targets Sens. Jon Tester (Mont.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.) and Joe Donnelly (Ind.), three of the 10 Senate Democrats up for reelection in states that President Trump won in 2016.

{mosads}The vice president will hit the three senators on issues like opposing the GOP tax plan and ObamaCare repeal efforts, as well as their support for “sanctuary cities” and Planned Parenthood.

“President Trump has been delivering for Montana every day — without much help from Sen. Jon Tester,” Pence says in the one of the ads, with footage from Trump’s rally in support of Tester’s GOP opponent, Matt Rosendale. “When the time came to cut your taxes, Jon Tester voted ‘no.’ When the time came to end sanctuary cities, Jon voted ‘no.’ And when the time came to repeal and replace ObamaCare, Jon Tester voted ‘no.’”

The ad against Tester will hit the airwaves late next week but run online starting Friday.

The ads are all paid for by the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the Senate GOP’s campaign arm.

Republicans have a favorable Senate map for the November midterm elections, when they hope to hold on to — and expand — their 51-49 seat majority. But they’re also defending three tough seats in Arizona, Nevada and Tennessee.

Both Pence and Trump have been stepping up their activity on the campaign trail. Politico reports that Pence will hold events in Florida on Thursday for Republican Gov. Rick Scott’s Senate bid before campaigning with Sen. Dean Heller (R) in Nevada the next day.

Trump has been traversing the country to attend campaign rallies for GOP Senate candidates, with upcoming events in Texas and Missouri. At Thursday night’s Montana rally, Trump took aim at Tester, saying the incumbent “loves the swamp.”

“Jon Tester will never drain the swamp because he happens to live in the swamp and he loves the swamp,” Trump said in Billings, Mont. “The problem is he’s never going to vote for me.”