As the world celebrates Earth Day, Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) is out with a new ad touting his support for oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean.
In the spot, Begich rides a snowmobile across the ice and says, "For decades, they said it would never happen. There was no way the Department of Interior, the EPA, NOAA, national Democrats and the White House would ever allow oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean. I'm Mark Begich –- I fought for five years to get the permits so we could drill under this ice. And we won. I approved this message because, sooner or later, Washington’ll figure out that I don't take no for an answer."
This ad is Begich's fourth in his campaign for reelection and the third where he has mentioned his support for oil drilling and his role in opening the Arctic to it.
Begich has been stressing his Alaska credentials in the race and going after a conservative group backed by the billionaire Koch brothers for airing negative ads against the senator. One of the ads received a significant amount of attention for featuring an actress from Maryland rather than an Alaska voter.
Drilling in the Arctic -- which is widely opposed by environmentalists -- has been a focus of Begich's while in the Senate. He supports drilling in the Arctic Ocean, the National Petroleum Reserve and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
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