Greens’ ad hits Michigan’s Land on Koch ties

The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) launched an advertising campaign Friday aimed at painting Michigan Republican Senate candidate Terri Lynn Land as an extension of the billionaire oil baron Koch brothers.

The TV ad accuses Charles and David Koch and the companies owned by Koch Industries of using Michigan as a “dumping ground” for pollution.

{mosads}“Their plant, producing toxic chemicals linked to cancer. Their piles of waste contaminated homes and threatened the Great Lakes,” the voiceover says.

It also accuses Koch “front groups,” including Americans for Prosperity and Freedom Partners, of “trying to buy a Senate seat” for Land, who opposes the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to reduce carbon pollution from power plants.

“Terri Lynn Land benefits from $5 million in negative ads from a Koch brothers front group,” Daniel J. Weiss, LCV’s senior vice president for campaigns, said in a Friday statement.

“Then she does their bidding by opposing reductions in carbon pollution that would protect Michiganders’ health and the Great Lakes.”

It is the first ad the LCV has launched in the Michigan Senate race, where Land and Rep. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) are vying for the seat being vacated by Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.).

The LCV said it is spending $400,000 to air the TV ad in the Grand Rapids area. The group released a poll early in August that found that Peters has a six-point lead over Land, and Michigan voters view the Koch brothers unfavorably by a 2-to-1 margin.