DCCC Pulls Ad in New Jersey Race
Updated 5:36 p.m. | The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is removing a television ad that aired in a southern New Jersey House race — a change caused by incorrect information in the GOP nominee’s personal financial disclosure forms, according to a committee aide.
The ad, which is still online, features a Phoenix fireman accusing the Republican nominee, Tom MacArthur, of dishonest tactics as an insurance executive.
MacArthur is running against Burlington County Freeholder Aimee Belgard, the Democratic nominee, in a competitive race to replace retiring GOP Rep. Jon Runyan in the 3rd District.
Here is the ad:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLV9p2FKKvQ
On Monday, the MacArthur campaign threatened litigation against the DCCC over the ad in the Philadelphia Inquirer . Forty-one local firefighters issued a letter calling on the committee to take down the ad, according to a Tuesday afternoon news release from the MacArthur campaign.
The move is based on “on new information that Tom MacArthur did not previously disclose,” according to the committee aide.
“Tom MacArthur provided false and incomplete information on his personal financial disclosure form about money he made from York,” the aide added.
The committee is not canceling its ad reservation in the district and will air a new ad in its place.
The DCCC aide described the move as “changing traffic,” a television industry term that means switching out one commercial for another.
The MacArthur campaign was not immediately available for comment on the change.
The race is rated Tilts Republican by the Rothenberg Political Report/Roll Call.
Roll Call Election Map: Race Ratings for Every Seat
Update: The MacArthur camp responded Tuesday afternoon.
“That is incredibly weak,” MacArthur spokesman Chris Russell wrote in an email. “The DCCC’s own opposition research report on Tom indicated that they knew he was retired from York before the company ever got involved in the firefighter claims.”
Russell attached a pair of scanned images from the DCCC’s research book on MacArthur:
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