Jean Schmidt was criticized in ads paid for by the Club for Growth, the Washington, D.C.-based group associated with Grover Norquist which campaigns for lower taxes and actively works for the defeat of Republicans it considers insufficiently conservative, such as Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania.
Schmidt's campaign literature noted her pro-life voting record, her opposition to gay marriage, her high ratings from the National Rifle Association, and that she "opposes an activist court system that acts against our conservative values."