The National Rifle Association is defending Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire for her vote against the bipartisan gun bill that failed in the Senate in April.
The NRA's ad is in response to one released earlier this week by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, an anti-gun group created and funded by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. It attacks Ayotte, a New Hampshire Republican, for voting against the bill sponsored by Sens. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Joe Manchin of West Virginia that would have expanded background checks for those purchasing firearms,
The Hill reports.
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"Seen this TV ad paid for by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg? Don't believe it," the NRA ad says. "Kelly Ayotte voted for a bipartisan plan to make background checks more effective. . . . Ayotte voted for a bipartisan plan to reform our broken mental- health system. Ayotte voted for resources to prosecute criminals who use guns. Kelly Ayotte stands with prosecutors and police for New Hampshire values."
Ayotte responded to the Bloomberg ads in an op-ed Monday explaining her vote against the bill.
"Out-of-state special interests are running false ads attacking me and even lying about my efforts to prevent gun-related violence," she wrote. "I want to set the record straight: I support effective background checks and, in fact, voted recently to improve the National Instant Criminal Background Check System."
In a recent Public Policy Polling survey, half of Granite State voters said that they were less likely to vote for Ayotte because of her vote against the background-check bill; a quarter saying they were more likely to support her.
There was an 11-point swing since October among New Hampshire voters who said they now viewed Ayotte unfavorably, according to the poll.