A super-PAC supporting Rick Santorum's presidential campaign went up with the first ad in what the group describes as a series of ad buys Wednesday in Missouri, airing a commercial arguing that the former senator is the best "proven conservative" to take on President Obama in the general election.
“We are realistic about the challenge ahead,” said Stuart Roy, a Red White and Blue Fund Fund adviser, in a statement. “And in order to defeat the Obama agenda you have to defeat Obama in the fall. To defeat Obama in November means you have to have principles, a proven record and be a consistent conservative. The only candidate who fits that bill is Rick Santorum.”
The group says it is targeting the Feb. 7 Missouri primary because of a PPP poll that shows Santorum with a 13-point lead over Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican front-runner, in the state. Newt Gingrich did not qualify for the ballot in the state, although the primary is nonbinding and will not determine delegate allocations.
“Missouri is important because it is a state where Rick Santorum already holds a strong lead and where the ballot matchup is essentially Santorum versus Romney for the first time,” Roy said.
The commercial states that "Obama's reckless agenda must be stopped," and suggests that neither Romney, Newt Gingrich nor Ron Paul could adequately challenge the president.
"There's only one principled candidate with the courage to do it," the narrator says.
The group says it will likely purchase time in Colorado and Minnesota, and perhaps in some of the 10 states voting on Super Tuesday.
