U.S. Sen. David Perdue moved to shore up his support with military veterans and their families with an ad Tuesday that highlighted his vote for the biggest pay hike for troops in roughly a decade.
Speaking direct to camera, Perdue says he was “outraged at how our military was being disrespected” and that “it was way past time to do something” to increase military salaries.
Perdue’s TV ad aired as he and other Republicans aim to contain a political crisis that stemmed from a report that President Donald Trump privately referred to U.S. soldiers killed in combat as “losers” and “suckers.”
The president has repeatedly disputed the report by The Atlantic, whose key details were corroborated by Fox News and other outlets, and has recently tried to smooth over increasing friction with the military.
Perdue is relying on strong support from the military community for his re-election bid against Democrat Jon Ossoff and Libertarian Shane Hazel. Roughly 690,000 military veterans live in Georgia, a bloc of voters that has long been reliably Republican.
But a Military Times poll conducted in late August showed Joe Biden with a slight lead over Trump among active-duty troops, a warning sign that Republicans could be losing their edge among military families.
Perdue’s ad takes aim at a different angle. It features a testimonial from Patricia and Gary Hart, two Air Force veterans from the Republican’s hometown of Bonaire who single out the pay hike.
“Trust me, military families needed that raise,” Patricia Hart says. “David Perdue is truly making a difference.”
See the ad here:
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