A vote for Republican senate candidate Rep. Cory Gardner of Colorado is a vote for devastating floods and a massive shortage of prophylactics, according to a batch of new ads released Wednesday by pro-abortion groups supportive of Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Udall.
The new anti-Gardner ad campaign, which cost NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado and NARAL Pro-Choice America upwards of $450,000, features three separate commercials, each tailored specifically for television, radio and the Internet.
“Guys, guys, guys, guys, guys,” a man says in the NARAL television ad, which will be aired throughout the state, “if Cory Gardner gets his way, you better buy extra insurance.”
Amid footage of flooding and devastation, the following words are splashed across the screen: “Gardner: Denies climate change.”
“Guys, guys, guys, guys, guys,” a woman says elsewhere in the TV spot, “if Cory Gardner gets his way, you’d better stock up on condoms.”
Amid images of a man rummaging through empty condom wrappers, the following words are splashed across the screen: “Gardner: Ban birth control.”
And then there’s the NARAL radio ad.
“So everyone’s sold out of condoms?” a woman in the radio commercial, which will air in the Denver market, asks after being told by a man that store are all sold out. “How did this happen?”
“Cory Gardner banned birth control,” the man replies. “And now, it’s all on us guys. And you can’t find a condom anywhere.”
“Climate change that everyone knows is weirding our weather,” the man continues in an odd non sequitur, “Cory flat-out denies it. Sweet pea, Cory denies science. This guy has no idea what’s going on in the real world.”
The NARAL ad campaign, which is scheduled to run between now and Nov. 4, is aimed at younger voters in the Centennial State. This year’s election is Colorado’s first ever to be conducted entirely by mail, and as many as half the votes have already been cast — either returned already, or currently in the mail. The aim of this ad is to get more young voters to return their ballots.
According to a running tally kept by the Republican firm Magellan Strategies, the share of votes from 18-34 year-olds is considerably smaller so far than it was in 2010. What’s more, the crowd from this age group that has voted so far is also more heavily Republican than in 2010, with young registered Republican voters slightly outnumbering young Democrats.
“Cory Gardner tries to deceive Colorado voters on his opposition to birth control and his belief that politicians have a right to interfere in our personal, private medical decisions,” Executive Director of NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado Karen Middleton said in a statement. “These ads highlight how Cory Gardner is on the wrong side of Colorado values and voters, especially young voters.”
NARAL Pro-Choice America political director Erika West added: “Having access to birth control and being able to decide if, when and how to start a family is not just a women’s issue.”
“It is an issue that affects men and women. Even though he’s been called out repeatedly by fact checkers, Cory Gardner keeps trying to hide his real record as an anti-birth control extremist. And we’re going to remind all voters of that every day between now and Election Day,” she said
Sen. Mark Udall, who is currently trailing Gardner in the polls 47 to 43 percent, according to the Real Clear Politics average, has made the so-called “war on women” the centerpiece of his re-election campaign, repeatedly accusing his Republican challenger of trying to deny women access to birth control.
The Republican congressman’s official stance, however, is that he supports oral contraception for over-the-counter purchases. He has not actually pushed to outlaw birth control.
Udall, whose seat is looking more and more vulnerable, has come under fire from both the left and the right for his repeated invocation of the “war on women,” the Denver Post characterizing his campaign as feckless and insulting.
“Rather than run on his record, Udall’s campaign has devoted a shocking amount of energy and money trying to convince voters that Gardner seeks to outlaw birth control despite the congressman’s call for over-the-counter sales of contraceptives,” the newspaper’s editorial board wrote in early October.
“Udall is trying to frighten voters rather than inspire them with a hopeful vision. His obnoxious one-issue campaign is an insult to those he seeks to convince,” the editorial board added.
