An ad from Republican challenger Cory Gardner that falsely reported a vote by U.S. Rep. Betsy Markey of Fort Collins was pulled from television Wednesday.
The Gardner ad accused his opponent in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District of voting for the fiscal 2010 federal budget when it was another Markey, Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., who voted yes. She voted no.
Markey’s campaign complained about the ad in a two-page letter, and the agency behind it then pulled the spot.
“It seems that truth has become the victim more than ever this year in all political advertising nationwide,” said Peter Maroney, general manager of Denver-area TV station KDVR Fox 31, which was airing the ad.
Gardner’s campaign admitted the error Wednesday and said the ad has been revised.
“Those 3 seconds were changed,” Gardner spokeswoman Rachel Boxer said. “There is a plethora of bad votes to highlight, so it was easy to replace.”
Markey campaign spokesman Ben Marter, meanwhile, said, “Gardner should be ashamed of himself and should apologize to the people of the 4th Congressional District for lying to them.”
