The infamous pink tutu – the one thus far at the center of this year’s Senate race in Arizona – just lost some of its flounce.

You’ve, no doubt, seen (and seen and seen) the campaign ad, in which Republican Martha McSally tells us that Democrat Krysten Sinema is unqualified to be our senator because she protested the Iraq war and “denigrated” the troops sent to fight it.

"Everyone remembers where they were on 9/11,” McSally says in the ad, one of three ads featuring Sinema in her pink tutu. “I was deployed to the Middle East. Led airstrikes against the Taliban and was the first woman to fly a fighter jet in combat. I know the price of freedom.

"While we were in harm’s way in uniform, Kyrsten Sinema was protesting us in a pink tutu and denigrating our service. The world is a dangerous place. We need strong leaders who understand the threat and respect our troops. Kyrsten Sinema fails the test."

Sinema is not the only one who failed a test.

Politifact on Monday rated McSally's pink tutu ad as "mostly false."

Sinema wore a tutu, never denigrated troops

While it’s true that the unfortunately dressed Sinema spoke at an anti-war protest in 2003, there is no evidence that she “denigrated the troops,” according to Politfact, a non-profit fact checking website operated by the Poynter Institute.

Cue Politifact: “At a 2003 rally called ‘No War! A Celebration of Life and Creativity,’ Sinema wore a pink tutu. Media reports of the rallies in 2002 and 2003 quote Sinema as opposing the war and the Bush administration’s policy, but we found no evidence of her disparaging troops.”

One would think a former fighter pilot would use more precision in her attacks, especially given that they seem to be the centerpiece of her campaign.

The now mostly-debunked centerpiece of her campaign.

Certainly, the 15-year-old images of Sinema in her tutu next to McSally in her uniform make for a strong contrast.

But they've been running for two weeks now and early voting begins in a month and surely there is more to talk about in this all-important race.

Perhaps McSally could explain her recent transformation to immigration hardliner as she now vies for the hearts and votes of the moderate middle.

Kyrsten Sinema may have worn the tutu 15 years ago, but why do I get the feeling that Martha McSally is the one now doing a tap dance?

Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com.

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