Opting for a decidedly more direct appeal to his progressive voter base, a congressional candidate in New Mexico released a campaign ad on Friday where he opens his spiel by saying, simply, "F*** the NRA."

New Mexico 1st Congressional District Democratic candidate Pat Davis released the ad online and on-air. Standing behind a desert backdrop, he looks straight to the camera before starting his plea for votes in the 15-second ad.

"F*** the NRA,” Davis says calmly in the ad, which has already garnered more than 100,000 views on YouTube. “Their pro-gun policies have resulted in dead children, dead mothers and dead fathers.”

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He continues, "If Congress won't change our gun laws, we're changing Congress."





The controversial ad was broadcast—with a warning preceding the spot—on CBS affiliate KRQE at about 12:30 p.m. local time. The profanity remained uncensored due to campaign fairness rules, according to the station general manager Bill Anderson.

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"We received a request for airtime from a legitimate federal candidate for office, and according to federal election rules, we are required to give him the same access as his opponents,” he said in a statement to news media and viewers. “This station, by law, is not permitted to censor or in any way edit this commercial.”

Davis is a former police officer who currently serves on the Albuquerque City Council. His unusual campaign strategy is likely an effort to help him stand out in a rather crowded primary race without an obvious frontrunner. Others vying for the congressional seat include former U.S. attorney Damon Martinez, one of the 46 U.S. attorneys fired by President Donald Trump after the 2016 election and Deb Haaland, whose victory would mean sending the first Native American woman to Congress. Also in the race is Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, who has been collecting a boon in fundraising money compared to other candidates.

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In response to the ad, the National Rifle Association released its own parody video, in which the gun lobbying group suggests the candidate wash his mouth out with a bar of soap. The clip, which censors the profanity used in the original video, was posted to the NRA's Twitter page on Friday evening.

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That video attracted the attention of Parkland student and gun control advocate David Hogg and several other gun control supporters, many of whom lambasted the selection of Oliver North as the new president of the group. North is perhaps best known for his vacated conviction in the Iran-Contra affair of the 1980s.





This article was first written by Newsweek

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