League of Conservation Voters hits Schaffer on water in new ad

Senate candidate Bob SchafferIt’s been a busy week for outside groups in the hotly contested Senate race and the environmental organization League of Conservation Voters is the latest to hit the airwaves.

“Every drop of water is precious to the Western Slope,” an announcer says in the 30-second television ad. “But Bob Schaffer supported giving state government a $2 billion blank check to take water away from the Western Slope and send it to front-range developers. Schaffer has accepted over $400,000 from developers, dipping his fingers further into special interests and leaving Colorado high and dry.”

An LCV spokesperson did not specify the size of the media buy, but said the ad would be running in the Grand Junction media market.

The organization, which has targeted Schaffer in two additional television spots, joins several other outside groups in airing ads in the Centennial State contest this week. Both Club for Growth and Freedom’s Watch are targeting Democratic candidate Mark Udall (D-Eldorado Springs).

Responding to the newest LCV spot, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee noted that Udall’s wife is a former president of America Votes, a coalition of progressive organizations of which LCV is a member. By law Udall’s campaign is not allowed to coordinate with outside groups, though an LCV official stressed it had not coordinated with the Democrat.

“It’s not surprising a group so closely tied to Boulder Liberal Mark Udall would be spending hundreds of thousands of dollars impugning Bob Schaffer, but no one else they claim is wrong on their issues – including vulnerable Democrat Mary Landrieu,” said NRSC spokesman John Randall. “This is nothing more than an extremist liberal organization working to defend an extremist, liberal politician.”

LCV appears almost certain to continue playing a role in the race for the seat, which U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Loveland) is retiring from after two terms. On Wednesday the organization reported spending $25,000 on canvassing efforts.