In an interview that aired Tuesday, Sen. Mark Udall (D., Colo.) said he was insulted by a campaign ad from his opponent that highlights the Udall family's political ties.
Republican candidate Cory Gardner released the "Nice Guy" ad this week, which paints Udall as a "really nice guy,"--but a lifetime politician.
"Eighteen years in politics and he’s got two cousins who are senators too," Gardner said. "Mark Udall’s dad even ran for president."
Gardner, who has led recent polls, said he is proud to sell tractors, just like his father and grandfather did.
But Udall and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) is not pleased with Gardner’s everyman persona, calling the ad "disgusting" and "low."
"To see Congressman Gardner decide to go after my late father and members of my family in a negative ad--that's just low," Udall said.
DSCC communications director Justin Barasky slammed Gardner’s campaign for the so-called negative ad, and demanded it be taken off the air.
"It’s disgusting that Congressman Gardner would stoop as low as attacking Senator Mark Udall’s late father, and it is beneath a candidate running for the U.S. Senate," Barasky said. "Congressman Gardner should apologize to Senator Udall and his family and pull the ad off the air."
However, the Gardner campaign has refused to roll over, mocking the DSCC's oversensitive reaction. Campaign manager Chris Hansen told the Denver Post:
"This is rich. For six months Sen. Udall has done nothing but wage the nastiest campaign in America, and now he is upset that we are calling him a nice guy? Mark Udall has been in Washington for so long and is so partisan that he can’t even take a compliment when it comes from the other party."
Both Udall and Gardner have received endorsements from high-profile figures in their respective parties. The Clintons campaigned for Sen. Udall, while Gardner was featured at a rally Saturday with former presidential candidate Mitt Romney. The contenders will face off in a televised debate on Oct. 15.
This is the ad the DSCC calls "disgusting," "beneath" a candidate and should be pulled from air. https://t.co/aEej0CFhuB #COSEN
— Susan Davis (@DaviSusan) September 24, 2014