Arizona Senate candidate Jim Lamon (R) released an ad on Thursday depicting himself in a shootout with Democratic leaders including incumbent Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly (D) whose wife was injured in a mass shooting a decade ago near Tucson that left six dead and several others wounded.
The ad shows Lamon facing off against “the D.C. gang” which includes actors playing President Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly.
“The good people of Arizona have had enough of you,” Lamon said. “It’s time for a showdown.”
The actors playing Kelly and Biden draw guns while Pelosi draws a knife. Lamon draws a gun and shoots the weapons out of their hands forcing them to run.
The ad will begin running on Sunday during the Super Bowl.
The ad drew immediate backlash online from Democrats and gun control groups.
“DISGUSTING: Former Rep. Gabby Giffords was shot and seriously wounded 10 years ago. Her husband’s Republican US Senate opponent, @jim_lamon, just put out an ad in which he shoots Mark Kelly and other Democrat leaders,” Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts wrote on Twitter.
“Republicans don’t have any ideas to help you. And they can’t win elections. So they’ve gone all in on using violence as a path to power. RT if you’re choosing #VotesOverViolence this Fall,” Democratic congressman Eric Swallwell said.
Lamon’s Republican opponents in the state primary also condemned the ad. Blake Masters, a venture capitalist called the ad “absurd and desperate” but “fits” Lamon’s campaign.
Another one of Lamon’s GOP Senate rivals, Michael McGuire said he thinks the ad will backfire and help Kelly raise money. He said the ad demonstrated “poor judgment” by Lamon.
“Real violence and use of deadly force is no laughing matter,” McGuire said in a statement to AzCentral. “Violence in America is real and it isn’t funny. This ad shows poor judgment and isn’t reflective of the values of the Second Amendment. This ad will do more to boost Mark Kelly’s fundraising than help Republicans.”
Last month, Lamon released an ad invoking the conservative anti-Biden phrase “Let’s go Brandon.”
