AR-Sen: Mark Pryor (D) Goes After Tom Cotton (R) On Medicare In New Ad

A short one but a good one:

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/...

Sen. Mark Pryor's (D-AR) re-election campaign rolled out a new ad on Monday highlighting his support for Medicare and attacking his Republican opponent over supporting changes to the program.

The ad, obtained first by TPM, features Pryor touting his own efforts to make it more difficult to raise the eligibility age for Medicare. Pryor specifically mentions the Medicare Protection Act, which he introduced in March.

"I wrote the Medicare Protection Act to stop politicians from destroying Medicare," Pryor said in the ad. "My legislation makes it harder to raise the eligibility or to turn Medicare over to the insurance industry. My opponent voted to withhold benefits until age 70, and I'm trying to stop that."

Pryor's attack on Rep. Tom Cotton (R-AR), the likely Republican nominee, are based on Cotton's support for a Republican Study Committee budget proposal to turn Medicare into a voucher system and raise the age for access to Medicare to 70. - TPM, 4/28/14

Pryor is actually running a smart campaign against Cotton.  He's making Medicare and Social Security top issues because of Cotton's long support for wanting to cut both programs.  Which might explain why Pryor is leading Cotton in the polls:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/...

A new round of polling in four states central to the battle for the Senate majority shows Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) with a clear lead over Rep. Tom Cotton (R) and a trio of other incumbents in competitive contests.

Pryor leads Cotton 46 percent to 36 percent among registered Arkansas voters in the New York Times Upshot/Kaiser Family Foundation poll. It's a somewhat surprising finding considering that most other recent polling has shown a neck-and-neck race. The new data come at a time when Democrats are expressing increased optimism about Pryor, who earlier this cycle appeared to be the most endangered senator facing reelection. - Washington Post, 4/23/14

And Pryor also received a big endorsement for his re-election bid:

http://www.thecitywire.com/...

U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., received the endorsement of the state’s largest teachers’ union, the Arkansas Education Association, on Saturday (April 26). Brenda Robinson, president of the AEA, said Pryor was a “strong advocate” for public education.

“The Arkansas Education Association is proud to recommend the re-election of Senator Mark Pryor to represent the great state of Arkansas,” Robinson said. “Mark believes that we have the responsibility to our seniors, our veterans and, most importantly, to our children. He has worked steadily to make higher education more accessible for Arkansas students by reducing the federal student loan rate and increasing funding for pell grants. He also supports raising teachers’ salaries to keep and attract the best educators.”

The AEA endorsement is not a major surprise. The teachers’ union frequently endorses Democratic candidates in many contested general election match-ups. It recently endorsed Democrat Mike Ross in the Arkansas Governor’s race.

Pryor touted votes for Title I funding, which boosts spending in school districts with low income students. He also cited his support for special education programs, trade and job-based education, and student loan money. - The City Wire, 4/27/14

If you would like to donate or get involved with Pryor's re-election bid, you can do so here:
http://pryorforsenate.com/