September 25, 2018
Pro-Trump Super PAC Drops First Ad In NY-22
America First Action, which promotes candidates who back President Trump's agenda, is out with a new spot attacking Democrat Anthony Brindisi as an "Albany politician" too liberal for voters to choose in his race against Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney.
The spot, the first for the group in this race, is a negative spot aimed at Brindisi that doesn't mention either Tenney or Trump.
"Meet liberal Anthony Brindisi, another Albany politician who thinks government knows best," the ad says.
It goes onto accuse Brindisi of "supporting socialized-style single-payer" health care while at the state legislature and for backing a bill "making it easier for illegal immigrants to go to college on New York taxpayers' dime."
The spot closes by linking Brindisi to both New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
America First has already booked $390,000 of television time in the state, and a spokesperson for the group told NBC News it expects to spend a total of $542,000 in the district, including on television, digital spots, mail pieces and other spending.
The attacks in the ad echo those levied by Tenney and her allies during the campaign.
While Brindisi voted for a single-payer program while in the New York legislature, he's said he doesn't support a similar plan at the national level yet. He told a New York NPR affiliate in August that he preferred to work on other health care fixes before discussing whether single-payer could work on a large scale.
He also helped to sponsor a state version of the DREAM Act, which gives undocumented immigrants access to financial aid. Tenney's campaign blasted the vote earlier this year in a statement as a vote to "put illegal immigrants first."
Both Tenney and Brindisi are locked in a tough fight in one of New York's most competitive congressional districts. A Siena College poll last month found the race within the margin of error, with Brindisi holding a slight, 2-point lead.