Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), who is in a heated Democratic primary runoff for June 8 with the more liberal Lt. Gov. Bill Halter, has a new pair of TV and radio ads for the home stretch of the campaign — proudly declaring her independence from the labor unions that have backed her opponent.
“I’m Blanche Lincoln, and I know you’re angry at Washington. Believe me, I heard you on May 18. I’m even being attacked for where my family lives,” Lincoln says in the TV ad, referring to the first-round primary in which she came in first place with 45%, but with less than the 50% needed to win. She is also apparently referring to the Halter campaign’s gloating over Lincoln’s initial trouble voting in the primary, after she had sent away for an absentee ballot and had not mailed it back. “But I won’t back down to the Washington unions or the Wall Street banks that don’t care about Arkansas.”
In the radio ad, Lincoln proudly declares: “I know many of you are angry at Washington, but I always try to do what’s right for Arkansas. The Wall Street bankers are mad because I forced them to accept real reform that threatened their enormous profits. The labor unions are spending millions of dollars against me because I won’t vote with them 100% of the time. Well, my vote isn’t for sale and yours shouldn’t be either.”
The TPM Poll Average gives Halter a lead of 47.3%-44.7%.
