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Koch Brothers-Backed Ad Hits Strickland With Clinton

Clinton's stance on coal mining an issue in Ohio Senate race

Screen Shot (Freedom Partners Action Fund)
Screen Shot (Freedom Partners Action Fund)

A new ad from the Freedom Partners Action Fund, backed by the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, hits Ohio Democratic Senate candidate Ted Strickland with remarks his party’s presidential nominee made about coal mining.

The ad opens with a coal miner, identified as Josh W. from Cadiz, Ohio, at work with other miners.

“Every day, I really wonder if I’m going to have a job the next day,” he says. “It’s happened to a lot of people around here.”

Next, footage from a Democratic primary forum in Columbus, Ohio, shows Hillary Clinton saying, “We’re going to put a lot of coal miners out of business.”

[Clinton Feels Heat in Coal Country]

Then, over a shot of Strickland and Clinton together, Josh says, “Seeing Ted Strickland stand with Hillary Clinton after what she said really hurts us here in the coal industry.”

“There’s no way he’s going to stand up for us,” he adds.

Strickland faces incumbent GOP Sen. Rob Portman in the race rated Tilts Republican by The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report/Roll Call.

[Koch Brothers Invest Heavily in Nevada, Ohio Senate Races]

In a second ad, the group attacks Nevada Democratic Senate candidate Catherine Cortez Masto for a guardian program for seniors under her watch as Nevada attorney general.

The ad features Guadalupe Olvera, described as a “war hero” who was “victimized” by the program. A narrator says that when his family pleaded with Cortez Masto for help, she “turned them away.”

Cortez Masto is running for retiring Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid’s seat against Republican Rep. Joe Heck. The race is rated a Tossup by The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report/Roll Call.

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