U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.)'s primary challenger Debbie Halvorson on Tuesday accused her opponent of "lying" in a new campaign radio ad which states that she voted against President Obama 88 times while she was in Congress.
Halvorson, however, contends that she actually voted for the president's policies "more than 90 percent of the time" -- while Jackson, according to Congressional Quarterly data, voted against him approximately 80 percent of the time in 2010, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
"He's lying, and he's distorting my record and I won't stand for it," Halvorson said, according to the Sun-Times. "Rep. Jackson is not a legislative friend to the president. He opposed almost every one of the president's job bills."
(Scroll down to watch Halvorson address her opponent's radio ad.)
While Halvorson admits that while she voted with Congress's Republican majority 88 times between 2009 and 2011, that does not mean she voted against the president.
"That means that sometimes we have to cross the aisle and take a look at how it is to move this country forward. I’m not a rubber stamp for anybody," Halvorson continued, as reported by the Chicago Tribune.
Halvorson has demanded that Jackson take down the contentious ad, which features unidentified women saying Halvorson, "voted 88 times with the Republicans and 88 times against President Barack Obama ... She's crazy," Patch reports. The participating women have been identified as U.S. Reps. Maxine Waters and Corrine Brown.
Halvorson went on to say that she continues "to be appalled by Congressman Jackson’s blatant lies, but I suppose I shouldn’t be since Congressman Jackson says he is inspired by Republican Newt Gingrich," according to Patch.
Jackson's campaign spokesperson Kevin Lampe said that "Democrats should stick together. [Halvorson] is running for the Democratic nomination. She should vote with the Democrats when she's in Congress," WBEZ reports.
"Congresswoman Halvorson wants people to believe she's a progressive Democrat, but she votes like a conservative Republican," Jackson's campaign continued, Crain's reports.
And while Obama has endorsed Jackson in the primary, Halvorson said that the president has only stated his preference through aides, but never directly, according to WBEZ.
Halvorson's challenge of Jackson in Illinois's newly redrawn 2nd Congressional District has been a tense one. Last week, a Jackson supporter, Pastor Willie James Campbell of St. James Ministries, said at a campaign event that "Satanic forces" were behind the obstacles to the incumbent congressman's re-election and that Halvorson's agenda represents a "political demonic force."
Jackson's camp declined to comment on Campbell's bizarre statements.
WATCH Halvorson respond to Jackson's claim that she has voted against President Obama 88 times:
Related
Before You Go
View more videos at: http://nbcchicago.com.