McSally New Ad Ties Democratic Challenger to Sanders

Sen. Martha McSally in a new ad released Tuesday tied her Democratic challenger Mark Kelly to Democratic Socialist presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) as "too liberal for Arizona."

"First Mark Kelly said he would have voted to overturn the election and remove Trump from office, now Kelly says he would support Bernie Sanders,” the narrator says in the 30-second ad titled 'Bernie Bro.' "Kelly and Sanders, too liberal for Arizona."

Last week, Kelly gave three different answers when asked by Arizona's Family if Sanders hypothetical won the Democratic nomination, would he support one "who describes himself as a Democratic Socialist."

"Well, he's got to win first," Kelly responded. "And when we get there we'll see, how was this campaign conducted? And at some point, and at some point in the future I'll make a decision."

However, Kelly was asked by a local newspaper the same question, where he responded: "I will ultimately support who the nominee is of the Democratic Party, that’s clear."

When asked to explain the difference between the two comments,  a campaign spokesman said Kelly's "intention" will support the Democratic nominee. 

In a statement announcing the ad, McSally campaign manager said a vote for Kelly is a "vote for Bernie Sanders socialist policies."

"Kelly is quickly making the choice in this election very clear – a vote for Kelly is a vote for the Bernie Sanders socialist policies of government takeover of healthcare, open borders, and massive tax hikes on the middle class," McSally campaign manager Dylan Lefler said in a statement announcing the ad. "Mark Kelly will be Sanders 51st vote in the Senate."

McSally was asked in a radio interview about Kelly multiple answers to the question of whether he would support Sanders nomination. 

"This is the first time he was even asked a hard question in a year. He's been hiding in a bunker raising, you know, 20 million dollars," McSally said on the Guy Benson show on Fox News Radio. "The media is just fawning all over him. Nobody asked him a hard question. And finally, he showed his true colors that he would be Bernie Sanders. Fifty first vote in the Senate. His entire path to victory is trying to pretend he's not a Democrat. So he can win over center right leaning independents and moderate Republicans who may not like President Trump tweets or demeanor, pretending he's not a Democrat."

She added, "He can't even get his story straight. But when he finally did, he said, I'm for Bernie Sanders if he's the nominee. And Arizona needs to know that and make sure that they send me back to the Senate to hold the line as the thin red line for the Senate majority in the fall. We are ground zero and Chuck Schumer is going to have to pry that Senate majority out of my cold, dead hands."

Kelly raised nearly $6.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, more than any other candidate running for the Senate. He raised $20 million for the year and has about $13.6 million cash on hand.  Meanwhile, McSally raised more than $4 million in the fourth quarter, having about $7.5 million in cash on hand.