Democrats are out with a new Spanish-language TV ad that compares California GOP congressional candidate Katcho Achadjian to presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.
The 30-second spot draws a connection between Trump's anti-immigrant remarks and Achadjian's own controversial comments about undocumented immigrants.
"He [Achadjian] said he would 'ship [undocumented immigrants] all out and make sure they can’t come back.' Sound familiar?" the narrator asks in Spanish, adding, "Katcho Achadjian and Donald Trump. Two anti-immigrant Republicans."
In 2011, Achadjian, a member of the California State Assembly, stated, "I don't support illegals and would ship them all out and make sure they can't come back, but farmers need a labor force."
The ad is part of a $300,000 media campaign in California's 24th district -- which is 36 percent Hispanic, according to the U.S. Census Bureau -- to support Democratic congressional candidate Salud Carbajal. It's paid for by the CHC BOLD PAC, which aims to increase Latino representation in House and Senate leadership, and the House Majority PAC, a Democratic super PAC focused on congressional elections.
"Central Coast families deserve far better than the divisive politics of Donald Trump and Katcho Achadjian," House Majority PAC Executive Director Alixandria Lapp said in a statement.
On June 7, California voters will head to the polls for the top-two primary election, in which the top two vote-getters -- regardless of party -- advance to the general election.
In a debate hosted by The Santa Barbara Independent and the NPR-affiliated KCRW last week, Achadjian said he would support Trump if the business mogul becomes the GOP nominee. “It will be challenging times, but I will be happy to work with him," he said. "I’ll teach him better.”
When asked to comment on the commercials, Achadjian's campaign manager, Nyri Achadjian, told The Huffington Post, "The DCCC and Nancy Pelosi are afraid of Katcho's resounding support in the district and nervous that their hand-picked candidate, Carbajal, won't make top two."
"It is unfortunate and disappointing that they are resorting to mud-slinging," she added. "They must not have confidence in their candidate to stand on his own merits."
Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims — 1.6 billion members of an entire religion — from entering the U.S.
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