GOP super PAC seizes on Ellison abuse allegations in ads targeting Dems

A top GOP super PAC is launching four TV ads calling on Democratic House candidates in Minnesota to demand that Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) end his bid for state attorney general amid allegations of domestic abuse.

The four spots by the Congressional Leadership Fund, which is aligned with Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), target Democrats Angie Craig, Joe Radinovich, Dan Feehan and Dean Phillips, accusing them of “standing by” Ellison in the face of the allegations.

“Backing Ellison instead of believing his victim?” a narrator asks in the ads, which are indistinguishable save for the candidates mentioned in each spot.

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The ad buys come days after the National Organization for Women, a prominent feminist group, called on Ellison to withdraw from the Minnesota attorney general race. 

All four of the Democratic hopefuls targeted by the Congressional Leadership Fund ads are running in highly competitive races in districts that Republicans are either trying to pick up or hold on to in November.

Ellison is accused by an ex-girlfriend, Karen Monahan, of becoming physically violent and verbally abusing her on one occasion in 2016. Monahan’s adult son first made the allegation public when he mentioned it in a post on Facebook. 

Ellison has denied the domestic violence accusation, but has confirmed that he had a relationship with Monahan.

The deputy chairman of the Democratic National Committee overwhelmingly won the Democratic nomination for Minnesota attorney general last week, leading his closest challenger by 30 points.

In an interview with CBS News on Thursday, Monahan detailed the alleged incident with Ellison, saying that he began cursing at her after asking her to take out the trash before trying to drag her off the bed where she was lying.

Updated at 12:06 p.m.