Sentinel Action Fund dropping $400k ad buy targeting Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly over gas prices
Arizona senator on defensive in key midterm race
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FIRST ON FOX: The Sentinel Action Fund is dropping nearly half a million dollars on an ad buy targeting Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, a Democrat, over the skyrocketing gas prices in America.
The Heritage Action-linked super Political Action Committee (PAC) spent $400,000 on a new ad that will be broadcasted for two weeks on Tucson broadcast television.
"Senator Mark Kelly continues to support Biden’s assault on American energy, and Arizona families are struggling as a result," Sentinel Action Fund president Jessica Anderson told Fox News Digital.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}SENATE GOP REELECTION ARM TAKES AIM AT ARIZONA’S KELLY OVER BORDER SECURITY IN NEW AD BLITZ
"At every step, Kelly supported President Biden’s radical cabinet nominees and stayed silent as they shut down new oil and gas drilling, even when gas prices in Arizona soared above $5," Anderson continued. Voters in Arizona know who is responsible for this mess and will make their voices heard this November."
"The Grand Canyon State deserves someone who will stand up to Biden and actually defend American energy while delivering real relief for Arizonans," she added. "That person is not Senator Kelly."
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) was targeted by the Sentinel Action Fund in a new ad over skyrocketing gas prices. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
The ad, titled "Mark Kelly - Out of Gas" and exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital, blasts the Arizona Democrat for his near-lockstep voting record in line with President Biden’s policy agenda and links it to the sky-high gas prices.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"November 2020: gas $2 a gallon. Joe Biden and Mark Kelly get elected," the narrator says. "Their first actions: put environmental radicals in every job affecting energy."
"Next, Biden stops new American oil production pushed banks to stop financing domestic energy, five American refineries forced to close, and, this summer, $5 a gallon," the ad continues.
"Mark Kelly voted with Biden 97.7 percent," the ad concludes. "You’re out of gas, and Mark Kelly should be out of office.".
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The six-figure ad comes as Kelly's Senate seat is considered among the most likely to flip this election cycle.
The ad links Kelly's near-lockstep voting record with Biden's policies to the high gas prices facing Americans. (Fox News )
Kelly's campaign pushed back on the ad, with campaign spokesperson Arielle Devorah telling Fox News Digital that Arizonans trust the senator to bring the cost of gas down.
"No matter what attacks Republicans come up with, when it comes to Senator Kelly’s work in the Senate, the facts speak for themselves: Kelly has, since his first day in office, always put the needs of Arizona first, introducing legislation to suspend the federal gas tax and urging this administration to do more to lower costs," Devorah said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Arizonans know they can trust Mark Kelly to have their backs and deliver results," she continued.
The Arizona senator's campaign also pointed to Kelly's record addressing gas prices, including his bill to suspend the federal gas tax until 2023, the Gas Prices Relief Act.
Kelly also called on the Biden administration to investigate the rising costs and release oil from the strategic reserves to ease prices, as well as criticized the White House's response to the rising prices.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The massive ad buy comes ahead of the Republican primary to see who will take on the former astronaut for his seat.
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Heritage Action’s cannon shot at Kelly is likely only the first one to be fired by the conservative group in this race, especially as things heat up after the primary is done.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Gas prices are expected to be an especially potent factor in the election.