Ads hit red-state Democrats on Obamacare

Americans for Prosperity is targeting two red-state Democrats over Obamacare with a pricey new ad buy that launches this week.

The conservative group singles out Sens. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) and Mary Landrieu (D-La.) in two new health care-related television ads, viewed first by POLITICO. The North Carolina and Louisiana 2014 contests will play key roles in determining which party controls the Senate.

The buy is around $2 million, and the ads will air in the senators’ respective states for three weeks.

The Landrieu spot twice plays a clip of the Louisianan saying of Obamacare, “If I had to vote for the bill again, I would vote for it tomorrow.”

“Tell Sen. Landrieu we deserve better than Obamacare,” the ad continues.

Tim Phillips, the president of Americans for Prosperity, will unveil the Hagan ad at a press conference in Raleigh on Tuesday, he said in an interview.

“Who gets stuck with the bill? Families and small businesses,” that ad says of Obamacare. “Kay Hagan: taking care of Washington insiders, not North Carolina families.”

The organization devoted $1.7 million to North Carolina, and a little more than $500,000 to Louisiana, figures that reflect media market prices, Phillips said. Another $100,000 per state will be devoted to grassroots and social media efforts, he added.

“Both ads are unique, but the goal is the same: we want to make sure to hold both of these senators accountable over the long term for their votes that first passed Obamacare into law and now have upheld that law repeatedly,” he said.

Both senators have supported modifications to the law amid enrollment complications.

Last week, the organization announced the launch of Obamacare ads targeting House members, and Phillips stressed that the latest campaign is not a one-time volley.

“I’ve said a number of times before that repealing Obamacare is a long-term effort,” he said. “These ads, both on network [TV] and cable, along with social media and grassroots, is a continuation of what we believe is going to be a long-term effort required to eventually repeal Obamacare.”