Democrat Walz Plays up Drilling in First Ad

Another Democrat facing a tough race is breaking from his party and emphasizing offshore oil drilling.

Freshman Rep. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) is going up with a new radio ad Friday, and it pointedly says that he differs from his leadership on the issue.

The announcer says Walz is “bucking his party leadership to create a real energy plan that gets something done.”

“It expands offshore drilling,” she says, pausing for effect, “and uses those royalty dollars to speed up our transition to clean energy, create jobs and make us energy independent.”

Walz is one of several Democrats in a tough race who is emphasizing drilling, even as leadership has been cool to the idea. Rep. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) has notably become a drilling proponent during his Senate campaign.

Download the ad here.

– Aaron Blake