Gore’s group woos Senate centrists in climate bill ad push

Al Gore’s climate advocacy group is launching new TV ads that pressure Senate centrists from Indiana, Missouri, Maine and Arkansas to support comprehensive energy and climate change legislation.

The ads by Repower America – which is part of Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection – show residents from the states touting the benefits of “clean energy” and calling on their senators to get on board.

“Our communities are hurting. We need more jobs, and clean energy is the way to go,” says Dennis Murphy of Missouri.

The ads can be viewed here.

The ads will begin airing in Indiana and Maine on Friday, and Missouri and Arkansas early next week, said a spokeswoman for Gore’s group, who declined to provide the cost of the ad buy.

The ads will air widely in the states on local and cable networks for three weeks, spokeswoman Giselle Barry said in an email.

Senators such as Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) and Maine’s two GOP senators are considered swing votes in the fight to impose mandatory caps on greenhouse gas emissions.

The ads draw on videos posted on the “Repower Wall,” a site where people and businesses upload messages in support of low-carbon energy sources.

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