HALTER RESPONDS TO LINCOLN CHARGE ON UNIONS

The latest salvos in the Democratic Senate primary have Blanche Lincoln airing a new TV spot acknowledging that she doesn’t work for labor unions, which helped pay for a round of attack ads against the incumbent Senator. She also accuses her opponent, Bill Halter, of negative campaigning.

In turn, Halter’s campaign is calling Lincoln “hypocritical” and has rolled out a new TV ad.

In the attack ad on Lincoln, which you can view here, a narrator states, "She's working for them. Not us."

Lincoln responds in her newest ad, which you can view here, with a comeback.

"So, who's the 'us' that I'm not working for?" she says. "That ad is paid for by a bunch of Washington, D.C. unions. And they're right - I'm not working for them, I work for you.”

The last line in the spot is her first major foray into responding to Halter’s candidacy. At the end of the ad, Lincoln says, “Bill Halter gave me his word this would be a positive campaign. That didn't last long."

The Halter camp takes offense to the Senator’s charge and offered this counter-response:

“Bill Halter and his campaign had no knowledge or role in the production of this ad and, in fact, it would have been illegal to do so,” said spokesman Bud Jackson. “Bill Halter has said he looks forward to running a positive campaign. Every television and radio ad that the Halter Campaign has put out has been positive.”

Jackson added, “We challenge Blanche Lincoln to demonstrate that she is not being hypocritical and deliberately misleading Arkansans by returning more than $575,000 in contributions she has received from the very same unions she now criticizes.”

The Halter campaign provided extensive documentation on contributions from labor groups that Lincoln has received since 2000.

P.S. Halter rolled out a new TV ad today. The Coach is back and they’re looking for a new playbook for Washington.