Joe Manchin Hits Back Against NRA Ad

Manchin Takes On NRA

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Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) released a new ad Thursday responding to the National Rifle Association's ad campaign against him, defending his cosponsorship of a bill expanding background checks.

"I'm a lifetime NRA member, but I don't walk in lockstep with the NRA's Washington leadership, this administration or any special interest group," he says in the ad, which debuted on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "West Virginia, you know me. I haven't changed. And you know I've always fought for our gun rights."

"Call the NRA and tell them to support criminal background checks," he says.

A Manchin aide told Politico that the buy would at least match the NRA's buy of approximately $100,000.

The ad is similar to Manchin's 2010 ad where he shot cap-and-trade legislation with a rifle.

Manchin's bill, cosponsored with Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), failed in the Senate in April. The West Virginia senator said earlier this month that the chances of it passing the Senate this year were 50-50.

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Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.)

Senators Who Voted NO On Background Checks

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