GOP senator accidentally touts her challenger's massive lead with Facebook ad


Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) is spending money to remind her Facebook audience how little she has raised so far for her campaign.

Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) is determined to remind her Facebook audience about the fundraising prowess of her Democratic challenger, former astronaut Mark Kelly.

"MARTHA'S BEEN OUTRAISED BY $2,000,000!" a recent Facebook ad, paid for by McSally for Senate, reads.

Kelly in fact raised $2.5 million more than McSally during the most recent fundraising quarter, bringing in $5.5 million compared to McSally's $3 million.


"Democrats are hellbent on defeating Martha in 2020 because they believe if they can flip her seat they can take the Senate," the ad continues.

Republicans hold a slim 53-47 majority in the Senate, and McSally, who was appointed to the seat in December last year, is indeed one of Democrats' top targets.

The ad then begs supporters to give $5, to help McSally bridge the fundraising gap between her campaign and Kelly's. "Make an urgent contribution to help Martha hold Arizona and keep the Senate red," it states.

Sen Martha McSally Facebook ad

McSally suffered a defeat in her previous bid for Senate. In 2018, McSally lost to Democrat Kyrsten Sinema, giving Democrats their first Senate seat victory in Arizona in 30 years.

Despite the will of the voters, McSally was then appointed to the Senate by Arizona's Republican governor to fill out the term of the late Sen. John McCain.

Still, McSally did not take her defeat lightly. In a four-page memo released last November, the McSally campaign blamed a combination of the media, geography, liberal philanthropist George Soros, history, her GOP primary opponent, moderate Republican women, and her opponent, Sinema, for her loss. The memo did not lay any of the blame at McSally's feet.

As she gears up for another run, McSally's campaign still faces some headwinds. Kelly has not only raised more campaign cash over the last three months, but has outraised McSally this entire year. Kelly is sitting on a campaign war chest worth $9.5 million while McSally has only $5.6 million.

With voting more than a year away, RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel recently stated, "Dollars are the real polls right now." If that's the case, McSally is trailing.

McSally is also trailing in the polls. Despite leading earlier in the year, a recent survey showed McSally 5 percentage points behind Kelly.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.