A little more than two weeks after its initial infiltration of five key battleground states hosting 2012 Senate elections, Crossroads GPS is back.
The outsized third-party conservative group is attempting to seize the high ground as the debate over the debt ceiling reaches its climax, launching the next phase of its $20 million summer ad blitz.
Its latest 11-day $1.6 million purchase lands in the five familiar states of Florida, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska and Ohio, accusing the Democratic Senate incumbents of voting for "billions in new taxes and trillions in debt."
The spots, shared with POLITICO, feature a montage of "regular people" lamenting rising prices for gas and groceries and falling house prices before accusing President Obama of another tax hike.
The Miami Herald adds:
Crossroads GPS is launching a second ad against Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson. The spot blames Nelson for higher taxes and spending while Americans struggle to find jobs and pay more for gas and groceries.
The "reckless spending" cited in the ad, though, is a bipartisan affair, as Republicans also ran up budgets in the George W. Bush era. The ad buy in Florida is $560,000. Ads are also playing against Sens. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Jon Tester of Montana, Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Sherrod Brown of Ohio.
On Sunday, we looked at the rise of the third-party expenditure groups like Crossroads GPS and affiliate American Crossroads, which plan to spend $20 million in July and August alone. Story here.
