When I talked to the campaign of Illinois Democrat Debbie Halvorson, who’s running for Jesse Jackson Jr.’s old seat, the spox suggested that Michael Bloomberg’s super PAC would back off on the ad they’ve been running. As you can see above, that ad calls Halvorson out for being an ally of the NRA and an obstacle to the gun reform Bloomberg seeks.
It turns out the Bloomberg folks say they are not pulling that ad or tweaking it. In fact, they’re spending more money to keep it on the air. The Hill reports that Independence USA PAC has put almost $800,000 on the extended ad buy. As of Sunday, the ad will have run 574 times in Halvorson’s district.
For Bloomberg, it appears to be money well-spent. Halvorson appears to have gone from being an instant front-runner in this month’s crowded Democratic field to polling in second place. If the NRA is supposed to be the big scary monster that chases talk of gun reform out of the public square, then Godzilla just met a new Mothra.
