The National Republican Senatorial Committee is attempting to lure the GOP electorate away from Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., and Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., with a new ad this week titled "A Choice."
The spot claims "liberal democrat" Sinema voted for President Joe Biden's agenda 100% of the time and calls "rotten" Gallego a "deadbeat dad," referring to his divorce from Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego.
"National Democrats are fighting a lose-lose civil war over who they'll make their standard bearer: Rotten Ruben Gallego or liberal rubber stamp Kyrsten Sinema. Arizonans deserve better," said NRSC spokesman Tate Mitchell in a statement.
Not mentioned in the ad are "the multitude of headaches and setbacks Sinema dealt to Biden as she successfully worked to trim the IRA's ambitions and preserve the Senate filibuster," Politico noted.
The spot points out that Gallego divorced his ex-wife in 2016 just a few weeks before she gave birth to their first child, then blasts him for marrying a lobbyist, Sydney Barron, several years later, Politico wrote. "The ad closes by calling him a 'deadbeat dad,' without evidence to support the claim."
The ad messaging implies that national Republicans are attempting to transform the three-way race into a battle between a Republican and two Democrats, but some in the state fear the tactic won't be successful, The Washington Examiner observed.
"I'm just not sure that's going to work as a strategy overall," an Arizona Republican told the Examiner. "Many voters here know Sinema has caused massive headaches for the president with his Build Back Better agenda and the filibuster, so these kinds of attacks just unfortunately aren't based in reality."
"I can tell you a real concern among some of us is that Gallego will end up as the next senator of Arizona as a result of this three-way race," the Republican added. "That would be a real nightmare for us."
Some said the personal attacks against Gallego could backfire, especially since many describe the congressman's relationship with his ex-wife as "cordial," The Washington Examiner noted.
"I don't think that was a very effective piece. The mayor of Phoenix, who is [Gallego's] ex-wife, I think will end up endorsing him," said Chuck Coughlin, a longtime Arizona operative who is the CEO and founder of the Phoenix-based firm HighGround.
Coughlin says Sinema has a limited ceiling with Democrat voters but could be more viable with Republicans who do not want to vote for likely Republican nominee Kari Lake.
"Whereas on the Republican side, you know, she's been this source of compromise, which makes herself available to those centrist voters who want to see progress who are frustrated with government," Coughlin said of Sinema.
Much of the polling shows Gallego leading a three-way race because Lake appears to be losing Republican votes to Sinema.
Barrett Marson, a Republican operative in the state, told the Examiner if Sinema runs, she "absolutely" will siphon away votes from Republicans. He also is cautioning against recent polling that shows Gallego leading since Sinema hasn't announced a 2024 run. Republicans are preparing for her name to appear on the ballot.
"There's almost 11 and a half months until Election Day, so a lot can change between now and then," Marson said to the Examiner. "When Sinema starts spending money, touting all her wins, I think you'll see her poll numbers will probably get better."
Peter Malbin ✉
Peter Malbin, a Newsmax writer, covers news and politics. He has 30 years of news experience, including for the New York Times, New York Post and Newsweek.com.
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