Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster
Patrick Murphy continues to yoke Marco Rubio to Donald Trump, releasing a new advertisement that says Rubio “stands by Trump.”
The 30-second spot — called “For You” and released Thursday — features a footage from Access Hollywood where Trump makes lewd comments about women, before showing footage of Rubio saying the state has “to make sure that Donald wins this election.”
“No, we don’t. Marco Rubio stands by Trump and failed to show up for Florida,” the Treasure Coast Democrat says in the advertisement. “Here’s what I believe in. Bringing people together and reaching across the aisle to get things done, protecting Social Security, and building an economy that works for all of us. … I’ll be a senator who always works for you.”
Murphy has spent the past few weeks trying to tie Rubio to his party’s nominee. He spent much of Monday’s debate comparing the men, and has regularly called on him to denounce and revoke his endorsement of Trump.
“Patrick Murphy has been in Congress for four years and has nothing to show for it, so he’s attacking Marco,” said Olivia Perez-Cubas, Rubio campaign spokeswomen. “Marco is the only candidate who will act as a check and balance on the next president, regardless of who that may be.”
The new ad comes just days after the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee pulled its remaining week of ad reservations in Florida. Earlier this week, POLITICO reported the Senate Majority PAC pulled its remaining ads earlier this month.
But Murphy is gaining ground in the polls, with a recent Quinnipiac University Poll showing the race was too close to call. According to the poll, 49 percent of Floridians said they were supporting Rubio, compared to 47 percent who were supporting Murphy.
The poll of 660 likely Florida voters was conducted from Oct. 10 through Oct. 16. It has a margin of error of 3.8 percent.
In a Quinnipiac University poll released earlier this month, Rubio was leading Murphy, 48 percent to 44 percent. A similar poll in September showed Rubio up by seven points, 50 percent to 43 percent.
According to RealClearPolitics, Rubio leads by an average of 4.8 percentage points. The polling aggregation website has ranked the race as a “toss-up.”
