Katie Arrington touts Trump endorsement in first TV ad of SC congressional campaign
Republican Katie Arrington is going up with the first television ad of her South Carolina congressional campaign this week, airing a commercial that reminds GOP voters district-wide that she has the endorsement of former President Donald Trump.
Called “A Fighter for South Carolina,” the 30-second spot features an unidentified blond woman who starts talking about politics while sitting outside at a brewery or restaurant with a plate of apple slices in front of her.
“Whether it’s a lust for power or an arrogant desire for notoriety, it seems like nowadays politicians are only there to serve themselves,” the woman says as images of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace appear on-screen. “We need to elect servant leaders like Katie Arrington.”
The unknown woman notes Arrington has promised to donate her congressional salary, pledged to reject congressional health care and retirement benefits, and has said she will term-limit herself if elected.
“A pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, fiscal conservative. Plus, she’s Donald Trump’s choice,” the woman says of Arrington, before pulling out a tablet featuring a video clip of Trump.
Suddenly, the ad cuts to footage of Trump praising Arrington during his March 12 rally in Florence when he called Arrington “a fighter for the people of South Carolina.”
It closes with the woman, still holding the tablet, saying, “Totally agree, Mr. President.”
Arrington’s campaign said the ad, which will begin airing across the 1st Congressional District Wednesday, represents a six-figure buy on broadcast outlets.
A shorter 15-second version of the ad opens with Trump calling Arrington a fighter at the rally, before rewinding and playing his words a second time before closing with the woman saying, “Totally agree Mr. President.”
Asked about the woman featured in the spot, Arrington campaign spokesman Chris D’Anna said she is “someone concerned about the direction our country is headed.”
The TV ad comes with five weeks to go before the June 14 GOP primary, where Arrington is one of two candidates challenging Republican incumbent Mace for the GOP nomination.
The TV ad, which is Arrington’s first in the competitive GOP primary contest, echoes a video posted by Arrington last week on her social media accounts.
It also sets up a messaging war between Arrington and Mace, who are both pitching themselves to voters as “fighters” in dueling TV ads.
Last week, Mace released her second TV ad of the primary campaign season. It features former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who endorsed Mace in her reelection. In the spot, Haley calls Mace “a fighter” who is “tough as nails.”
Mace, a freshman lawmaker from Daniel Island, has now become one of Trump’s top political targets this election cycle after she became one of his most vocal and prolific critics within the Republican Party in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack.
While Mace has drawn two GOP challengers, her chief rival in the primary fight is Arrington, who famously unseated U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford in a 2018 GOP primary after she made loyalty to Trump the centerpiece of her campaign. Arrington went on to lose in the 2018 general election in a stunning defeat that shocked national political watchers at the time.
This year’s intensifying Republican primary race is seen as a test of Trump’s influence over the GOP base in a state where he won by double digits in 2016 and 2020.
The Republican primary is June 14. Whoever wins the GOP nomination will face Democrat Annie Andrews in November.
This story was originally published May 10, 2022 at 9:15 AM with the headline "Katie Arrington touts Trump endorsement in first TV ad of SC congressional campaign."
