Pearce continues hammering Udall on energy

Republican Senate candidate Steve Pearce’s new radio ad continues his campaign’s hammering of Democratic opponent Tom Udall on energy issues.

“It’s time our government stood up for working families, reduce our energy costs by building nuclear power plants and drilling for oil on land and offshore,” Pearce says in the ad, which you can listen to by clicking here. “The far left environmentalists are not going to like this and maybe it’s not politically correct, but nuclear energy is a sure way to America’s energy independence. Nuclear power can make America free from Middle Eastern oil cartels.”

“Nuclear power will make energy affordable, America prosperous and keep American jobs here instead of being shipped overseas,” Pearce says in the ad. “But Tom Udall and the extreme environmentalists oppose nuclear energy and offshore drilling. That’s bad for America. Tom Udall and the radical environmentalists are in our way.”

“Tom Udall opposes nuclear and domestic oil drilling. I support them. It’s just that simple,” Pearce says.

In recent days, Pearce has hammered Udall on the drilling and nuclear issues in television and newspaper ads. Republicans in Washington believe the energy issue is the one on which they have the advantage among the American people in an otherwise left-leaning year.

A Udall campaign spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Update, 1:50 p.m.

Udall spokeswoman Marissa Padilla released this statement:

“Steve Pearce kicked off his campaign with false negative attack ads. It’s no wonder. If I had his record of carrying the water for big oil, special interests and George W. Bush, I wouldn’t have anything positive to say either,” she said. “Tom Udall supports a balanced, multifaceted approach to addressing our nation’s energy dilemma. He knows that nuclear is part of our energy future and we must also increase domestic oil drilling and production, crack down on hedge fund speculation, dramatically increase fuel efficiency standards for automobiles and make serious investments in alternative energy.”