GOP Super PAC Accidentally Runs Maine Attack Ads in Portland Oregon
Is this a damning condemnation of money in politics or an overblown clerical error?
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Above: Susan Collins in Fryeburg, Maine on Oct. 9. Image credit: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg/Getty Images
The Facts
- A Republican super PAC supporting Maine Sen. Susan Collins mistakenly ran roughly $25,000 in digital ads attacking Democrat Troy Jackson in Portland, Oregon — about 3,000 miles (4,828 km) from Portland, Maine — the group confirmed Monday.
- The 30-second ad ran from Thursday through Sunday and was shown more than 1 million times in Oregon and over 300,000 times in Washington state, Google's advertising data showed. The listing was later updated to show Maine ZIP codes.
- Sarah Chamberlain, president and CEO of the Republican Main Street Partnership, said she was "absolutely furious" about the "ridiculous" error and blamed ad buyer Cross Screen Media, adding that the spot now runs in Portland, Maine.
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The Spin
Democratic narrative
Dumping millions of outside dollars into Maine doesn't buy the state. Maine voters deserve a senator accountable to Maine, not to a super PAC network that can't tell one coastline from another. Sloppy, big-money smears are no substitute for an honest case on taxes and the cost of living.
Republican narrative
A vendor's clerical error, caught quickly and refunded in full, changes nothing about the argument over higher taxes. Not a dime of donor money was lost, which is more fiscal discipline than the tax-hiking record under scrutiny. Harping on a geography goof instead of answering for a tax agenda signals a campaign short on real defenses.
