Democrat Shelley Adler has pulled a radio spot that compared Rep. Jon Runyan (R-N.J.) to deadly Hurricane Sandy.

Adler campaign spokesman Michael Muller told Roll Call that the ad was no longer airing. “We reached out to our buyer on Tuesday and we got confirmation it was off the air on Wednesday,” he said.

Adler, trailing Runyan in New Jersey’s 3rd district, left no doubt in the since-canceled radio spot that she was comparing the Congressman to the storm that hit the Garden State on Monday. The storm, dubbed “Sandy,” destroyed beaches and homes. It is being blamed for more than 70 deaths and has left millions on the Eastern Seaboard without electricity.

“They’re calling it ‘frankenstorm’ — a nor’easter inside of a hurricane,” a male narrator says in the spot. “In New Jersey, we’ve seen acts of nature do real damage. We’re also seeing our own Member of Congress do lasting damage in Washington. Jon Runyan has been in Congress only two short years and already he’s voted over and over again against New Jersey’s workers and families.”

Runyan’s campaign criticized the Adler campaign for the spot, calling it “ridiculous and insulting.”

The Adler campaign originally denied that the ad was a comparison between the storm and the Congressman — even though it very much appears to be just that — and tried to turn the tables on the incumbent, who is favored to hold the seat.

“What Congressman Runyan is trying to do is to divert attention from his record on disaster relief,” Muller said in a statement. “In the guise of calling attention to an ad, which in no way denigrates or minimizes the storm that was impending at the time it was released, he is trying to proactively turn his back on inspection of his record as it relates to disaster relief.”

Both the Adler and Runyan campaigns have ceased retail campaigning.

Listen to the ad here, which was blasted out by the Runyan campaign. It’s authenticity was confirmed by the Adler campaign:

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