A pro-Ted Cruz super PAC is running a radio ad touting how the Texas Republican routinely got under the skin of former House Speaker John Boehner.
The radio spot is part of a $1 million ad buy from the Keep the Promise I political action committee, which is backing Mr. Cruz’s quest for the White House.
In a statement, the group said the ads will air on radio stations around the nation, including Iowa and South Carolina, which host two of the first three nomination contests and are home to a wide pool of social conservatives Mr. Cruz is courting in the GOP presidential race.
In the spots, narrators champion the Texas lawmaker’s support for religious liberty and gun rights.
“I voted for him to be a U.S. senator because he promised that he would fight to bring power away from Washington, D.C. and bring it closer to home, stop the debt from growing and keep America safe,” a female narrator says in a 15-second ad, dubbed “The Ted Cruz I Know and Trust.”
“And he promised to fight for my religious freedom, the media and even some of his own party — like Speaker John Boehner — attacked Ted Cruz, referring to him as a pain in the you-know-what, because of his bold actions to keep the promises he made to me,” the narrator says.
The ad appears to be alluding to reports that Mr. Boehner called Mr. Cruz “a jackass” at a fundraising event this summer and talked about how he was happy the presidential campaign was keeping the conservative firebrand off Capitol Hill, making it easier for him to do his job.
Mr. Cruz has butted heads with leaders of both parties in Washington to the delight of some conservative and tea party activists, who say Mr. Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, could have done more to advance a limited government agenda and push back against President Obama.
The freshman senator was widely viewed as one of the winners from the third GOP debate last week in Colorado, where he won applause from the audience after he showered the CNBC moderators with criticism for the way they were handling the questioning.
The ads are scheduled to run through the end of the year.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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