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SD37: Raja Links Iovino to AOC, Bernie and Pelosi

A week after the first round of positive ads hit the airwaves in the Pittsburgh market, GOP hopeful Raja is up with the first attack ad of the SD37 special election.  

The spot attempts to brand Democratic candidate Pam Iovino as a member of the far left.

“Raja’s vision for Pittsburgh, jobs,” the 30 second ad “Vision” opens up. “100 thousand new hard hat and office jobs by making us the world’s energy hub and billions in economic growth from a manufacturing rebirth.”

Then it pivots to Iovino, whose photo appears alongside Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). It represents a sort of passing of the torch from Pelosi, long a GOP boogeyman, to Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez, the faces of the progressive movement on the left.

“Pam Iovino, she teamed up with extremist, to stop our growth with billions in new energy taxes resulting in higher energy bills and massive job losses crushing a generation of job opportunity,” the ad continues. “Pittsburgh can’t afford Iovino’s extremism.”

It’s a race to define Iovino, whose résumé is lengthy but unknown to many voters.

Iovino’s campaign pointed to her 23 years of service in the Navy, where she earned the rank of captain. They compared Raja’s ad to GOP messaging against another western PA Democrat in last year’s PA18 special election.

“She served in a Republican administration in the Department of Veterans Affairs, and was unanimously confirmed by the US Senate to be an Assistant Secretary,” said Abigail Gardner, Communications Director for the Iovino campaign. “Obviously her background of putting service and the country first can’t be attacked, so the Raja campaign is making up things up instead. Republicans tried to do the same thing to Conor Lamb and it failed miserably.”

25 Responses

  1. When a radio morning show does a skit making fun of your election loses, it might have been time to find another candidate for this seat. But Raja got his cronies on the County committee to nominate him at the expense of the party’s best interests. What a tool.

  2. Great strategy Ragi– sure worked for the R’s in the Lamb election and across the country in the 2018 mid-terms

    1. Jim’s a loser who doesn’t even live in the district or that part of the state for that matter!!!

    1. Thank you for your informed and intelectual opinion. You really brought a lot of substance to this debate.

  3. Hmmm lets see. Raja who employs hundreds or Iovino who has never employed any one? I’ll go with Raja.

    1. You mean exploits employees. He paid them crap wages & brought in workers from other countries to pay them even crappier wages. He was fined for not even paying minimum wage & overtime. That’s how he made his money.

    1. Interesting and good observation Nardo, Iovino dropped the first negative ad. This ad appeared to be a counter to let voters know Iovino supports job-crushing taxes and radical new green deal regulations and policies that will cost Pittsburgh families more. Not Pittsburgh values!

      1. That ad wasn’t from Iovino. But the ad WAS based on facts that Raja was fined for labor violations. They didn’t have to falsely compare him to Trump or anyone since they had receipts.

  4. Is everybody paying attention to the undercurrents? Of course, attaching a candidate running for State Senate to Bernie and AOC and of course, Nancy Pelosi is baloney–but the Republicans believe there is an audience for this material that belongs in an intellectual septic tank. This proves that there is a strong part of the non coastal states that are hungering for a more centerist candidate like Joe Biden and that as progressives swoon over Bernie ultimately he will not win in Ohio, Indiana and Pa. Biden remains the Dems best chance for Pres and ads like this support this idea.

    1. The real Buckminster Fuller 1895 – 1983) would have never supported a warmonger and Wall Street synchophant like Joe Biden. Bucky wanted the world to work for 100% of humanity. He would have been a Bernie man for sure. And AOC. He’d be excited about her.

  5. Another GOP boogeyman ad that the voters of the 37th will see through. These aren’t stupid voters.

  6. Typical Republican garbage. Being a state senator in Harrisburg has nothing to do with AOC, Bernie and Pelosi. I’m surprised they don’t show Iovino holding a hanger with a 9 month aborted fetus – oh wait, that’s probably the next ad.

    1. Typical Republican garbage, hogwash, and lies that brainwashed people think is great unfortunately. There’s a reason one party hates education and teachers with a passion.

      1. – Green New Deal
        – Late Term and Post Abortion Policies
        – Paying Those “Unwilling to Work”
        – Eliminating ALL Gas Powered Transportation

        Middle Class American Has Plenty of Reasons to be Scared Ryan!!! A shame that Iovino supports this crap!

        1. Raja’s running the same old tired GOP playbook to a T. Figured with all his resources, he could afford to be more imaginative. What a BSer.

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