United Liberty

The Club for Growth announced $500,000 in ad buys yesterday in Arizona against Wil Cardon, who is challenging Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) in the Republican primary for United States Senate. The move, which is a bit of a surprise, comes on the heels of a recent poll showing that Flake may be vulnerable in the race, according to The Hill:

The Club for Growth will drop a half million dollars on ads attacking Wil Cardon, the real estate mogul challenging Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) in the GOP primary for Arizona’s open Senate seat.

The deep-pocketed group will air two 15-second television ads — plus a 60-second radio ad — dubbing Cardon an impostor for claiming to be a conservative. The ads will air on broadcast and cable stations across the state.

The hefty investment by the fiscally conservative outside group signals a changing dynamic in the race for retiring Sen. Jon Kyl’s (R-Ariz.) seat. Until recently, Flake was considered the prohibitive front-runner in the primary, and few Republicans thought Cardon, who has never held elected office, could mount a viable challenge to the six-term congressman.

But new polling in the race showing that Flake’s 49-point lead over Cardon has been reduced to 22 points, combined with more than $4 million of his own money that Cardon has already pumped into his campaign, has prompted operatives in both parties to start paying close attention to the primary and the prospect that Flake could lose.
[…]
Cardon has attempted to impugn Flake’s credentials as a conservative, accusing him of supporting amnesty for illegal immigrants and of advocating for higher taxes and greater spending. But the Club for Growth, which endorsed Flake in February, will argue in its ads that it is Cardon whose leadership would bring about more taxes and spending.

Are you kidding me?! While I’m not pleased with some of Flake’s votes, such as his support for reauthorizing the PATRIOT Act, the guy has endlessly pushed for spending cuts. Before Republicans were unceremoniously booted out of control in Congress, Flake was one of the few trying to keep his party accountable, often offering amendments to cut wasteful spending from appropriations bills. He’s one of the good guys in Washington, which is why I’m having a hard time grasping the animosity towards him.

The Club will hit Cardon on his support of a $9 billion sales tax hike to pay for transportation projects in Maricopa County and his support of the Urban Land Institute, a green group that advocates for cap-and-trade and higher gas taxes.

Here are the two ads, the first hitting Cardon on the tax hike:

And the other on Cardon’s support of the Urban Land Institute: