Yellowhammer News on Monday confirmed that Fighting for Alabama Fund, Inc. is launching a significant, multi-week television advertising buy.
Fighting for Alabama Fund is a federal independent expenditure committee, colloquially known as a super PAC, supporting Congressman Bradley Byrne’s (AL-01) Republican 2020 U.S. Senate bid.
A source with direct knowledge told Yellowhammer News that the total buy will be in the six-figures across the Birmingham and Huntsville media markets. The buy is scheduled to start on Tuesday.
The 30-second ad, entitled “Kidding Me,” highlights Byrne’s approximately 97% record of voting with President Donald Trump while in Congress.
In the ad, a narrator calls Byrne “one of President Trump’s strongest defenders.”
The spot features clips of Byrne publicly fighting against Democrats’ impeachment inquiry into Trump. One of these clips provides the ad’s namesake phrase.
“Conservative Bradley Byrne: pro-life, pro-gun, pro-wall,” the narrator adds. “97% pro-Trump voting record and proud of it. Conservative Bradley Byrne. He stands strong with President Trump.”
Watch:
The placement of the pro-Byrne super PAC’s ad buy came the day that former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ Senate campaign released an internal poll showing Sessions at 43%, Byrne at 22% and former Auburn University head football coach Tommy Tuberville at 21%.
A previous Sessions internal poll conducted by the same pollster with the same methodology December 3 – 5 showed Sessions at 44%, followed by Tuberville at 21% and Byrne at 14%.
Byrne, since that poll was conducted in early December, has been advertising significantly on television, which explains his eight-point jump. Sessions and Tuberville have not been advertising on television, explaining their relative stagnation.
Byrne’s camp reacted to the latest Sessions internal with enthusiasm, taking it as a sign their TV ads are resonating with voters and that they have the momentum to make a runoff.
The super PAC’s ad buy may very well be looking to keep the momentum going.
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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