Already fueled by two high-profile endorsements, Republican Senate candidate Deb Fischer headed into the home stretch Saturday empowered byÌýa weekend TV ad blitz engineered by mega-wealthy businessman Joe Ricketts.
Two new ads began airing in the critical Omaha and Lincoln markets, one attacking Attorney General Jon Bruning's ethics and the other boosting Fischer as "one of us."
The $180,000-plus buy immediately prompted the Bruning campaign to file a complaint with the Federal Election CommissionÌýalleging "a clear violation of federalÌýelection law," whichÌýforbids campaigns and outside groups to coordinate their communications.
Almost all of the footage in one of the ads is lifted directly from an earlier Fischer campaign ad, Bruning campaign consultant Brooks Kochvar said Saturday. That, he said, is explicitly forbidden by campaign financeÌýlaw.
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The new ads -- paid for by the Ending Spending Action Fund, an organization identified with Ameritrade founder and former Omahan Ricketts -- help fill a huge gap in Fischer's campaign on the final weekend before Tuesday's primary election.Ìý
Underfunded for a competitive statewide race, FischerÌýhas been overwhelmedÌýin the critical arena of TV advertising by Bruning and State Treasurer Don Stenberg, who has been boosted by heavy advertising on his behalf by the Senate Conservatives Fund and Club for Growth.
Bruning's TV ad buy for the final seven days of the campaign totals $370,000.
Fischer, endorsed during the week by 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Lincoln,Ìýreportedly has moved into second place behind Bruning in campaign tracking polls.Ìý
But Bruning, always the acknowledged front-runner,Ìýhas organized an extensive get-out-the-vote effort and could benefit from the early voting trend that suggests one of every seven primary election voters already has cast a voteÌýthat was uninfluenced byÌýrecent factors leading to the late Fischer surge.
The pro-Fischer TV ad aired by Ending SpendingÌýfeatures the endorsement by Palin and urges Republican voters to "surprise the world" by nominating Fischer on Tuesday.
The anti-Bruning ad raises questions about the attorney general's character, noting that he "got rich while in public office," holds "significant ownership in state-regulated companies," and "bought a $600,000 vacation home" with executives of Nelnet, a company whose actions came under his jurisdiction a year before.
All those accusations repeated criticism levied at Bruning by Stenberg, Democratic opponents and in newspaper accounts.
"It's a last-minute, desperate attack to try to change the election," Kochvar said. "It's so clear that's what they're doing because Deb Fischer cannot stand on her own record."
Fischer, a Valentine rancher, has been a member of the Legislature since 2005.
Joe Ricketts' son, Pete, was the 2006 Republican Senate nominee in Nebraska and currently serves as GOP national committeeman. The Ricketts family recently purchased the Chicago Cubs.
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