A Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate has released a Super Bowl ad that shows him in an armed showdown with President Joe Biden, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), whose wife, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) was shot and seriously wounded by a gunman in 2011.
The Hill reports:
Arizona Senate candidate Jim Lamon’s campaign released a Super Bowl ad on Thursday depicting him in an armed “showdown” with Democratic leaders including incumbent Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly (D).
The 30-second ad features actors depicting Kelly, President Biden, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
“The good people of Arizona have had enough of you. It’s time for a showdown,” Lamon, who plays himself in the ad, says.
The Democratic figures then draw their weapons and Lamon shoots at them, prompting them to run away.
Blake Masters and Michael McGuire, who are Lamon’s rivals for the GOP nomination, blasted him for his sick ad, with Masters calling it “absurd and desperate. Fits his campaign.”
McGuire noted:
“Real violence and use of deadly force is no laughing matter. Violence in America is real and it isn’t funny. This ad shows poor judgment and isn’t reflective of the values of the Second Amendment. This ad will do more to boost Mark Kelly’s fundraising than help Republicans.”
Shannon Watts, founder of the gun control group Moms Demand Action, weighed in on Twitter:
Rather than apologize, Lamon doubled down:
Lamon has almost no chance of winning the GOP nomination, and even he were to get the nod, isn’t seen as a serious contender to Kelly.