NRSC accidentally airs ad

A new ad from the National Republican Senatorial Committee was airing on Oregon television stations Tuesday morning accusing U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Merkley (D-Portland) of sponsoring legislation to get rid of the kicker tax refund.

This apparently came as news to the NRSC. Spokesman John Randall said the committee had no intention of running the television spot, saying the ad was accidentally circulated. But Merkley campaign spokesman Matt Canter questioned how an ad could be created accidentally, edited, put in an envelope, sealed, mailed, delivered, circulated, and then aired. He accused the NRSC of trying to run an ad with little substance.

“This is ridiculous,” Merkley spokesman Matt Canter said. “They aired an ad with absolutely no back up at all.  They attacked Merkley with absolutely nothing to substantiate their claims and now they are forced to pull down their ad.”

The Merkley campaign spotted the ad on television Tuesday morning and forwarded it to PolitickerOR.com. The ad accuses Merkley of sponsoring legislation to get rid of the Kicker Tax Refund, which allows for excess tax dollars to be returned to taxpayers.

“Our constitution requires that surplus income be returned to the taxpayers as a kicker tax refund,” the ad says. “Last year, over $1 billion dollars returned to taxpayers. But Jeff Merkley sponsored legislation that would have taken much of that kicker tax refund away.”

No votes, bills, or any sort of legislation were cited in the ad.

“This is the first time anyone has had to take down an ad,” Canter said, referring to the U.S. Senate race in Oregon, which has had a multitude of ads this cycle. “They have no information to back up their attacks against Merkley. If nothing else it showcases the professionalism, or lack thereof, of the NRSC.”

Randall said that as far as he knew, the commercial was taken off the air because it was not the ad that was supposed to run this week. No word on when, or if, it would be put back on. He also said that the ad that should be running on Oregon television stations is called “Timber,” and was released on Monday.