In first runoff ad, Senate Republicans slam ‘great actor’ Warnock

The Senate Republicans’ campaign arm debuted its first TV commercial of the runoff cycle. It telegraphed a strategy to attack U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock using a combination of attacks from the general elections and a swipe against Stacey Abrams.

The 30-second spot, which was aired by the National Republican Senatorial Committee on Thursday, brings up familiar themes about Warnock. It also links the Democrat to President Joe Biden.

The narrator states that Warnock is a great actor. He just doesn’t behave like your senator. Spending, taxes, energy – you name it. Warnock votes 96% with Joe Biden. That act is becoming more and more tedious.”

It is also one of the first TV attacks to portray the Democrat like a celebrity. The narrator says “Warnock belongs Hollywood, not Washington”, as images of Senator’s TV spots play.

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These ads are meant to support Herschel Walker, a former NFL player in a race that could decide control of the U.S. Senate.

Gov. Brian Kemp and his associates framed Abrams to be “Celebrity Stacey”, using attacks that helped lower her favorability ratings. Republican Senate hopeful Herschel Walk often refers to Warnock, who he calls a “Marxist” that rubber-stamps for Biden. However, he hasn’t jumped on the Hollywood bandwagon.

Republicans love to attack Republicans with the phrase “great actor”. Warnock’s wife described him as “great actor” during police footage from a dispute where he allegedly ran over her foot.

Warnock was not charged with any crime and doctors didn’t find any injuries to his foot. Warnock stated to the AJC that the allegations were “not true.” Other GOP groups have used bodycam footage from the dispute in their ads for several weeks.

The NRSC’s ad was one of the first to be featured in a new wave of paid advertising, which will dominate digital media and airwaves in the lead-up to Dec. 6.