GOP Senate race takes a negative turn
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The race for the GOP Senate nomination has turned ugly.
By Friday both Marlin Stutzman and Todd Young will be airing tough, negative ads directed at each other.
“Who can conservatives trust for U.S. Senate? Not Marlin Stutzman,” says the announcer in a Young campaign ad.
It began attacking Stutzman and his conservative credentials this week.
While Stutzman has an A+ rating from the NRA, so does Young. And both of them are endorsed by Indiana Right to Life.
They have to look elsewhere to point out differences.
“Stutzman voted for the biggest business tax hike ever and to practically double his government pay,” says the Young ad. “That’s not conservative.”
“Marlin Stutzman has been attacking Todd Young for months,” said Young campaign spokesman Cam Savage. “We think it’s really important that Hoosiers understand Todd’s conservative record and that he has a history of advancing conservative principals.”
Stutzman, on the other hand, is trying to label Young as the establishment candidate. An ad from his campaign hits the air on Friday.
“Special interests and Mitch McConnell have spent a million dollars buying Young a promotion to the Senate,” it says. “He owes them, not us.”
“Someone’s got to be out there telling the truth about records,” said Stutzman campaign manager Josh Kelley, “and the bottom line is Marlin Stutzman has a conservative record. He stood on principle.”
It’s rough stuff.
“Say no to Congressman Young. We don’t need another sellout in Washington,” says the Stutzman campaign ad.
It’s also the sort of political debate that has become a sign of the times.