Cornilles Goes on Offense in Oregon 1 Special

by Nathan L. Gonzales January 2, 2012 · 11:21 PM EST

With a Rose Bowl victory in the books, voters in Oregon’s 1st Congressional District have more time to turn from the University of Oregon Ducks’ explosive offense to a different kind of attack.

Republican nominee Rob Cornilles is going up with an ad on Tuesday that criticizes his Democratic opponent, Suzanne Bonamici, for tax increases and not creating jobs.

“The job creator or the partisan politician?” the ad starts. “The Oregonian reports, Senator Bonamici has ‘one of the most liberal voting records’ in Salem. She’s voted for 60 tax increases, hurting the middle class and small businesses. Incredibly, Bonamici ‘can’t recall ever voting against a tax increase or fee hike’. And she has ‘no record of job creation.’ It’s time for a job creator.” [Here's a link to the ad]]

The Republican’s ad buy is considerable (approximately $100,000, or about 645 points, on Portland broadcast stations) and reaches the entire 1st District.

It’s not Cornilles’ first ad of the campaign, but it is the first negative ad against the Democrat. In fact, it could be the first time Bonamici has been hit with an attack ad in her political career, according to a Democratic source.

On the other hand, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has already been on television with negative ads against Cornilles and has spent or committed well over $1 million on the race, up to this point. Thus far, the National Republican Congressional Committee and other GOP outside groups have remained on the sidelines.

Cornilles and Bonamici are battling for the vacant seat left by Democratic Cong. David Wu.The special election is January 31.

Stay tuned for more in-depth coverage of Oregon’s 1st District, including a report from the ground, later this week.