Joe Manchin will fight back against the NRA with TV ad

The NRA is spending $100,000 to target Manchin, following his push for a background checks measure

Published June 17, 2013 1:01PM (EDT)

Faced with a $100,000 ad campaign against him by the NRA, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., is fighting back with a big TV ad buy of his own. “The ad will at least match the NRA’s buy,” Jonathan Kott, a Manchin aide, told Politico. “We’ll be shooting [the ad Monday] in West Virginia and we expect to go up this week."

Manchin, who co-sponsored an unsuccessful measure to increase gun background checks, has been targeted by the NRA, which released an ad tying him to the “Obama-Bloomberg gun control agenda.” In response last week, Manchin said that, “Unfortunately, the NRA leadership in Washington has lost its way and is more concerned about political power than gun rights and gun safety."

From Politico:

But for Manchin and his top aides, the dispute with the NRA has become increasingly personal. Manchin’s chief of staff, Hayden Rogers, a lifetime NRA member, has let his membership to the group lapse. Rogers even pulled the pro-NRA sticker off his own truck.

Manchin had nearly $1.8 million in his reelection campaign as of March 30, according to Federal Election Commission records.

Here's the NRA ad:


By Jillian Rayfield

Jillian Rayfield is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on politics. Follow her on Twitter at @jillrayfield or email her at jrayfield@salon.com.

MORE FROM Jillian Rayfield


Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Background Checks Joe Manchin Nra Pat Toomey Video West Virginia