NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - In Tennessee's open race to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, a political group backed by a member of GOP candidate Manny Sethi's campaign is attacking his primary opponent Bill Hagerty and Alexander, calling the two "liberal" and "best friends."
The Conservative Outsiders PAC says the video was sent to more than 300,000 Republican activists and supporters in Tennessee, and said it plans more videos, ads on multiple platforms and ground operations as permitted. The group also set up an anti-Hagerty website.
According to a Federal Election Commission report, the PAC's sole donation so far is $100,000 in October 2019 from David Ingram, who is Sethi's campaign state finance chairman and is president of a large distribution company for videos, DVDs and video games.
The PAC reported spending $35,000 to send out anti-Hagerty emails this week.
The group's ad also claims that if Hagerty is elected, he will vote against President Donald Trump. Hagerty, a Nashville businessman, has Trump's endorsement in the race and he served as U.S. ambassador to Japan in the Trump administration. Sethi, a Nashville trauma surgeon, has likewise praised Trump on the campaign trail.
In response, Hagerty's campaign didn't mention the attack or Sethi, and instead continued to direct focus to Trump's endorsement.
Alexander, a Republican whose PAC has donated to Hagerty, came to the candidate's defense in a statement Tuesday.
"Donald Trump has told everyone he wants Bill Hagerty in the U.S. Senate," Alexander said. "The President has asked for Bill's advice and offered to come back to campaign for him. I don't know a Republican candidate anywhere who Donald Trump respects more and has endorsed more strongly."
The attack opens a new phase of the Republican contest, which is less than a month from the start of early voting ahead of the Aug. 6 primary. The PAC also indicated plans to go after Hagerty over his previous ties to former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, now a senator representing Utah.
Hagerty and Sethi are both running TV ads touting their candidacies, as is fellow Republican hopeful and Memphis radiologist George Flinn.
Nashville attorney and former Army helicopter pilot James Mackler is running on the Democratic side.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Bill Hagerty campaigns for U.S. Senate Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2020, in Gallatin, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)