Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO) has been attacked by Republicans for saying that the Islamic State is not an “imminent threat” to the United States, and he is now punching back with his own campaign ad talking a tough game against the militant group that has beheaded American journalists while terrorizing parts of Iraq and Syria.
Udall started to take heat last month when he said in a debate that ISIL, also known as ISIS, was not an immediate threat and invoked the names of the two U.S. journalists killed the group to explain his position (for which he apologized).
Gardner was soon criticizing him — “I believe that it’s time for Senator Udall to stop hiding behind this President’s lack of strategy and actually step forward and acknowledge that this is a terrorist organization that poses a threat that we must address and deal with” — the National Republican Senatorial Committee went up with an ad last week ripping Udall for the statement.
“Really?” the narrator asks after playing the clip of Udall’s “imminent threat” comments. The NRSC has spent $463,000 on TV ad placement against Udall since the ad came out. “Can we take that chance?”
Now Udall has put out his own ad that, without directly referencing the GOP attacks, pushes back against the idea that he is soft on ISIL.
“A barbaric terrorist threat met by a respected leader on national security: Colorado’s own Mark Udall,” the narrator says, referencing Udall’s position on the Senate Intelligence Committee and subcommittee on strategic forces. “No wonder military leaders have called him ‘a champion of an effective common-sense approach to fighting terrorism.'”
Gardner currently holds a slight edge over Udall in the race, 47.7 percent to 46.3 percent, according to TPM’s PollTracker average.
