Nebraska 1st District Congressman Jeff Fortenberry is going on the offensive against his Republican primary challenger, accusing State Senator Mike Flood of “betraying conservative values” a decade ago during Flood’s first stint in the Unicameral.
Fortenberry’s campaign released an ad Friday slamming Flood for his 2012 support of overriding the veto by then-Governor Dave Heineman of a health care law that allowed pregnant women in the country illegally to qualify for state-funded prenatal care.
The ad also tries to tie Flood, whose broadcasting empire includes News Channel Nebraska, to Democratic President Joe BIden over last year’s increase in illegal southern border crossings.
In a separate statement, the Fortenberry campaign says it will highlight what it calls “Flood’s history of betraying conservative values and the America First Agenda, squishy votes, and caving to the whims of liberal activists.
Flood was among a number of Republican lawmakers who supported the 2012 law as a “pro-life” matter that protected unborn children who don’t have immigration status and should receive care.”
Current Flood campaign manager Ryan Kopsa says Flood in 2012 “prioritized his pro-life principals on a difficult bill” while Fortenberry’s attack and lies about Flood’s position “is evidence of just how desperate” he is in the face of federal criminal charges.
Fortenberry is scheduled for trial next month in California for allegedly lying to federal investigators working on an illegal $30,000 to his 2016 reelection campaign from a foreign national.
Flood focused on the charges and the possibility they could cost the GOP Fortenberry’s seat when he entered the race earlier this month. Both Heineman and current Gov Pete Ricketts have endorsed Flood, citing the same issue.
Fortenberry is seeking his 10th term in Congress. The Republican winner will face Democratic State Senator Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln in November.