Scalise targeted in Spanish-language ads

A progressive political action group is releasing a Spanish-language ad in two battleground states highlighting the controversy surrounding House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.).

{mosads}American Bridge 21st Century, a group that produces opposition research often used in campaign advertisements against Republicans, and People For The American Way, another Democratic-aligned group, are jointly releasing a Web ad targeting Hispanic voters in Colorado and Virginia, The Hill has learned.

“Who are the leaders of the Republican Party?” the ad asks in Spanish.

It then breaks into a string of news clips explaining that Scalise admitted to speaking to a white supremacist group in 2002. The ad features conservatives like Erick Erickson and Charles Krauthammer, who have called on Scalise to step down or for Republicans to remove him from leadership.

“Republicans,” the ad concludes in Spanish. “The political party we can’t trust.”

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) have both issued statements backing the third-ranking Republican in the House. Boehner said Scalise has his “full confidence” as whip and “will continue to do great and important work for Americans.”

Scalise has said he regrets speaking to the group, which was founded by former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke and that, at the time, he wasn’t aware of their message.