Ad campaign attacks vulnerable GOP senator on women’s health

Emily’s List’s WOMEN VOTE! and Planned Parenthood Votes & Action Fund on Thursday launched new ads targeting Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) over his record on women’s healthcare issues.

{mosads}The two groups teamed up to release new TV and digitals spots, shared first with The Hill, that condemn Toomey’s vote to defund Planned Parenthood late last year.

The ad buy from Emily’s List is $1.1 million, and its TV spot will air on broadcast and cable in the Philadelphia media market. Planned Parenthood Votes & Action Fund’s $250,000 ad buy is a digital ad that will also run in Philadelphia. The ads will run from Thursday until July 13.

The 30-second TV spot, titled “Alive,” features Mary Lou Magyarits, a breast cancer survivor from Pennsylvania, who highlights the importance of screenings to detect cancer early. She said she was “outraged” by Toomey’s Planned Parenthood vote.

Emily’s List Executive Director Jessica O’Connell said in a statement, “Pat Toomey opted to shut down the government to defund Planned Parenthood, which only shows just how far he’s willing to go to drive his dangerous, out of touch agenda. Pennsylvania women can’t afford to have a Senator who is so reckless with their health care and the country’s economy, and we’re committed to send Pat Toomey packing in November.” 

Planned Parenthood Votes Executive Director Deirdre Schifeling also released a statement knocking Toomey, arguing that he “has systematically worked to block women from accessing birth control and cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood health centers.”

Toomey’s campaign pushed back on the ad, calling it “sleazy” and “misleading.”

“Pat Toomey has worked to improve access to women’s health care, but what he cannot support though is providing taxpayer dollars to an organization like Planned Parenthood, which has shown a horrific lack of regard for human life,” spokesman Ted Kwong said.

Toomey faces former gubernatorial chief of staff Katie McGinty in a tough reelection battle this fall in a state won by President Obama in both 2008 and 2012.

Recent polls have shown a tight race, but a new Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday found Toomey leading McGinty by 9 points, 49 to 40 percent.

Toomey also has a significant fundraising advantage over McGinty.