NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
FIRST ON FOX: The super PAC aligned with Arkansas Republican Senate candidate Jake Bequette purchased nearly $900,000 in broadcast and cable ads in the state in support of the former NFL player and U.S. Army veteran’s campaign, Fox News has learned.
This week, the Arkansas Patriots Fund spent $893,367 in pro-Bequette ads, which began airing on Tuesday night.
The super PAC put $561,000 toward ads on broadcast and $332,367 on cable.
“Democrats are destroying our country. Too many Republicans are too weak to stop them,” the ad says, showing an image of incumbent Arkansas GOP Sen. John Boozman with the words “RINO Republicans” blaring on the screen.
Former President Trump, right, endorsed GOP Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., left, in March 2021. ( )
The ad highlights Bequette’s college football career, his time playing professionally for the New England Patriots and his decision to join the military. Bequette enlisted in the U.S. Army in August 2017, completed Army Ranger school in October 2018 and became part of the 101st Airborne Division deployed to Iraq.
ARMY VETERAN, SENATE CANDIDATE JAKE BEQUETTE SAYS AFTER 9/11, HE ‘FELT THE CALL TO WEAR THE UNIFORM’
“Now, Bequette is volunteering for duty in the U.S. Senate,” the ad says. “Conservative, God-fearing, Arkansas Razorback, American patriot.”
Jake Bequette of the Arkansas Razorbacks warms up before a game against the New Mexico Lobos at War Memorial Stadium on Sept. 10, 2011, in Little Rock, Arkansas. The Razorbacks beat the Lobos 52-3. (Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
The size of the ad buy is striking. Neither the Bequette campaign nor the Boozman campaign have purchased ad time yet.
Politico first reported in October that Dick Uihlein, a conservative mega donor, gave $1 million to the Arkansas Patriots Fund super PAC in support of Bequette.
Former pro football player and Iraq War veteran Jake Bequette, in a campaign video, announces his 2022 Republican primary challenge against Sen. John Boozman of Arkansas, on July 12, 2021. ( )
Bequette has recently seen endorsements from Reps. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., and Burgess Owens, R-Utah.
But Boozman enjoys an endorsement from former President Trump, who threw his support behind the candidate in March 2021, months before Bequette launched his campaign.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“No one has more respect for President Trump than me, and that endorsement came before I got into the race,” Bequette said in an interview with Fox News last month, vowing to “stand unafraid and unapologetically” for pro-American policies and traditional American values if elected.
Meanwhile, according to Federal Election Commission data as of Dec. 31, 2021, Boozman is far ahead of his primary challengers, with $3.5 million cash on hand. At the time, Bequette’s campaign reported having $411,000 cash on hand, with Jan Morgan reporting just over $59,000.
