Sen. Martha McSally Officially Launches 2020 Campaign With a Video For Her Base

Sen. Martha McSally officially launched her 2020 campaign this week with a video addressing health care, veterans, sexual assault survivors, and opioid addiction.

The new campaign ad features an all-caucasian cast and runs just over three minutes long. It showcases four stories: a man named Phil discusses his struggle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); Kristen discusses her brain tumor; Justin discusses opioid addiction, and Jennifer talks about being a sexual assault survivor. 

Throughout the video, somber but hopeful music plays in the background as those on screen share their stories. Interspersed are snippets of McSally’s own background and how she connects to each of the speakers. She speaks about being a veteran, losing her own father when she was 12, and being a sexual assault survivor.

In a discussion about opioid addiction, the video shows a close up of white Arizonans talking and smiling as they walk along Trump’s border wall separating them from the Mexico side. As they walk, the narrator explains the importance of protecting our borders in order to keep drugs out of the U.S.

According to the Washington Post, black-market fentanyl and other synthetic opioids smuggled in from Mexico and China have become the fastest-growing and most lethal drug in America.

However, the opioid crisis did not start across the border. It started with licensed medical professionals prescribing opioid medications pushed by pharmaceutical companies to manage pain, which has led to an epidemic of substance abuse among Americans across the country. 

The video also highlights McSally’s commitment to health care and lower healthcare costs. But the video’s message contradicts criticism the senator has received recently. Her record has been under fire by healthcare advocates who say McSally supports legislation that doesn’t help stop the rising cost of health care.

McSally is viewed as one of the most vulnerable GOP incumbents up for election in 2020. After losing to Sen. Kyrsten Sinema in 2018, McSally was appointed to her seat in the Senate by Gov. Doug Ducey to finish Sen. John McCain’s term.

She is expected to win the Republican nomination and will face off against retired astronaut Mark Kelly in November’s general election. The winner will finish Sen. McCain’s term in office and will run for re-election in 2022.