The National Rifle Association and the National Shooting Sports Foundation each began running radio ads Monday in New Hampshire commending and thanking Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) for her opposition to legislation that would have expanded background checks on gun buyers, the Washington Post reported.
In the NRA’s spot, Ayotte is hailed as someone who “cares about protecting our kids.”
“She knows the only way to prevent tragedies like Sandy Hook is to fix our broken mental health system,” the ad’s narrator said. “That’s why Kelly Ayotte brought Republicans and Democrats together on a bipartisan solution. And it’s why Kelly had the courage to oppose misguided gun-control laws that would not have prevented Sandy Hook.”
According to WaPo, the NRA’s ad is slated to run on several popular talk and music radio stations.
The ad from NSSF, a national trade association for the firearms industry, took a thinly veiled shot at New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I), whose group “Mayors Against Illegal Guns” had pressured Ayotte to vote in favor of the gun bill that fizzled in the Senate earlier this month.
“Thank you for standing up to political pressure from a big city mayor who thinks he knows what’s best for the rest of us,” the ad’s narrator said. “Thank you for protecting the rights of gun owners, hunters and all who cherish the freedoms of our Second Amendment.”
A survey from Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling released last week indicated that Ayotte had suffered a significant backlash in New Hampshire for her opposition to the background checks legislation, with half of her constituents saying they are now less likely to back her for re-election. On Monday, another PPP survey showed that five other senators who voted “no” were also taking heat from their constituents.
Listen to the ads, via WaPo:
