Exclusive: Sen. Pryor Bashes Rep. Cotton Over Medicare In New TV Ad

Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor speaks as he campaigns in Hazen, Ark., Thursday, April 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)
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Sen. Mark Pryor’s (D-AR) re-election campaign rolled out a new ad on Monday highlighting his support for Medicare and attacking his Republican opponent over supporting changes to the program.

The ad, obtained first by TPM, features Pryor touting his own efforts to make it more difficult to raise the eligibility age for Medicare. Pryor specifically mentions the Medicare Protection Act, which he introduced in March.

“I wrote the Medicare Protection Act to stop politicians from destroying Medicare,” Pryor said in the ad. “My legislation makes it harder to raise the eligibility or to turn Medicare over to the insurance industry. My opponent voted to withhold benefits until age 70, and I’m trying to stop that.”

Pryor’s attack on Rep. Tom Cotton (R-AR), the likely Republican nominee, is based on Cotton’s support for a Republican Study Committee budget proposal to turn Medicare into a voucher system and raise the age for access to Medicare to 70.

Pryor has made Medicare and Social Security trending topics in his campaign. He’s repeatedly hit Cotton for supporting changes to the social programs.

“When I look at Republicans, especially on the House side, what I see is a group of House members that are persistent in trying to … undermine the integrity of Medicare and Social Security,” Pryor said Friday during a speech to optometrists in Arkansas.

Pryor’s campaign is spending six figures on the ad, which will air on cable and broadcast television across Arkansas.

Watch the ad below:

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