WASHINGTON - A political organization underwritten by the Koch Brothers is launching a major nationwide ad campaign that will applaud members of Congress who voted against the $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill and criticize those who didn't.
According to a press release from Americans for Prosperity, Wadsworth GOP Rep. Jim Renacci - who is running for U.S. Senate against Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown - is among those the ads will praise.
The group said it will send out mailers, and run digital, print and radio ads on the issue. It will place positive ads on behalf of more than a dozen Republicans, and run negative ads about 10 Republicans and eight Democrats who backed the bill. Renacci is the only Ohioan in the group's ad buy.
"The $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill passed by Congress in March showed a complete disregard for fiscal responsibility," said a statement from the group's spokesman Bill Riggs. "Both parties are responsible for putting the country on an unsustainable fiscal path, which is why AFP is committed to holding both parties accountable."
In a statement on Twitter after the vote, Renacci said he opposed the bill because he disliked having such short notice to review it.
"As a businessman, I wouldn't sign a 100-page contract in a 24-hour window, let alone vote for a 2,000+ page bill in a 15-hour window," his statement said. "I can't support this process."
Brown and Ohio GOP Sen. Rob Portman both supported the bill. Statements from Brown praised the bill's inclusion of $15 million in funding for Toledo's 180th Fighter Wing, $400 million for waste cleanup at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon, and $1.8 billion to support upgrades and modifications of the Abrams Tank and Stryker Vehicle built in Lima, Ohio.