Congressman Bradley Byrne (AL-01) on Saturday went up with his latest television ad, which hits both of the other leading two candidates in Alabama’s Republican U.S. Senate primary field.
The 30-second spot represents what is known as a “contrast ad,” with negatives against former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and former Auburn University head football coach Tommy Tuberville leading off, followed by a positive conclusion about Byrne.
Entitled, “Fired,” the ad dings Sessions for being forced to resign as attorney general by President Donald Trump and Tuberville for resigning as Auburn’s coach upon the request of the athletics director following the 2008 season, among other allegations about both candidates.
The spot features a mock panel of three voters seemingly interviewing each of the three Senate candidates one-by-one.
The former football coach is the first candidate that goes before the panel, with an actor dressed as Tuberville standing before the three mock voters.
Next up is an actor portraying Sessions.
In what might be the stand-out line from the creative ad, one of the panelists comments on Sessions’ time as attorney general, “Hillary [Clinton] still ain’t in jail.”
Finally Byrne himself comes before the panel, boasting about his congressional record of voting with Trump as well as his recent staunch support of the president during his impeachment, for which Byrne was recognized by Trump at the White House following his acquittal in the Senate.
Watch the entire ad for yourself:
“With momentum on our side, it’s time to highlight the clear differences between the candidates,” Byrne campaign manager Seth Morrow said in a statement to Yellowhammer News regarding the ad. “While others got fired for failing to get the job done, Bradley is the proven fighter with a track record of defending President Trump and our values. Bradley is the fighter we need to fire Doug Jones come November.”
The primary will be March 3. Candidates in the field also include former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore and State Rep. Arnold Mooney (R-Indian Springs). Moore and Mooney have both significantly trailed in polling compared to Sessions, Tuberville and Byrne.
The ultimate Republican nominee will face U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) in November.
Sessions, Tuberville campaigns react
In a statement, Sessions campaign spokesman John Rogers said, “When a candidate is desperate and losing, they always attack. Unfortunately, that’s what we are seeing not only from Bradley Byrne, but also from Tommy Tuberville. Both are throwing mud at Jeff Sessions because they are losing, and they have failed to connect with voters. Neither Byrne nor Tuberville can win on the issues. They can’t lay out a positive, conservative agenda for Alabama and the nation, and so they are desperately attacking Jeff Sessions, the only proven conservative leader in this race.”
Tuberville himself also released a lengthy statement bashing the Byrne ad as containing “lies” and “baseless attacks.”
“When Donald Trump was deep in the fight against Hillary Clinton and needed Bradley Bryne the most, Byrne said he was ‘unfit to be president.’ Alabama doesn’t need to elect another cut-and- run congressman like Bradley Byrne. We need a pro-Trump fighter like Tommy Tuberville,” Tuberville said, firing back.
“Career politicians and second-tier candidates like Bradley Byrne are afraid of losing power and being yanked out of the swamp. In the final few days of the primary, he’s telling lies, distorting positions, and launching baseless attacks because desperate candidates do desperate things,” he added, calling the spot “a sleazy, swamp creature tactic from a desperate politician.”
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
