Wentworth, Jones launch television ad war
News // Politics
Tracy Idell Hamilton
April 26, 2012 Updated: April 27, 2012 11:44 p.m.
Former Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones has released two television ads in her bid to unseat longtime state Sen. Jeff Wentworth.
The ads feature Jones, often in a hard hat at a drilling site, while her voiceover touts her ability to create jobs, balance the budget and fight the Obama administration.
She speaks nary a word about her opponent.
Wentworth, on the other hand, has taken a decidedly different tack in his first television ad, released Thursday.
The 30-second spot, which can be seen on YouTube, paints Jones as a carpetbagger controlled by special interests outside of District 25, which includes Alamo Heights and Olmos Park, all or part of Hays, Kendall, Comal, Bexar and Guadalupe counties, and a chunk of South Austin.
Jones and Wentworth share the May 29 Republican primary ballot with Donna Campbell, an emergency room physician running to the right of her opponents.
"To watch them battle it out for least-entrenched politico is like watching the cast of 'Jersey Shore' battle it out for citizen of the year," said Campbell's spokesman, Jon Oliver.
Earlier this week, Jones hit back after Wentworth was quoted in a recent Associated Press story as saying, "This woman has no idea who she is dealing with."
Jones called out the seven-term senator as arrogant and patronizing, "one of the most liberal Republicans" in the state Legislature who "sides with personal injury trial lawyers and Senate Democrats" and wanted to "raid the Rainy Day Fund" in the most recent session.
Jones is backed by Texans for Lawsuit Reform, which has made Wentworth's defeat its top goal this election season. The powerful group says Wentworth has opposed critical tort reform legislation in the past several sessions.
Jones' first ad describes her as "a conservative we can trust," a veiled reference to concerns by some that Wentworth isn't conservative or ethical enough.
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The Texas Tribune, which regularly polls a group of political insiders on various issues and races, found 85 percent of participants this week predicted Wentworth would keep his seat.
Several of the anonymous comments predicted a runoff. Some thought Campbell and Jones would split the conservative vote, while another called Wentworth "dead in the water."
The comments touch on Wentworth's vulnerabilities — one called him "out of gas" — but also his reputation as a fighter.
The race, said one, "is his to lose."
thamilton@express-news.net