Bob Casey’s Senate campaign in Pennsylvania says it won’t renew an ad that drew a complaint from the widow of a U.S.-based journalist who was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.
The campaign said in a statement Friday that it sympathizes with the widow of Jamal Khashoggi, but didn’t plan to immediately pull the ad , which uses the image of the journalist to criticize opponent Dave McCormick for ties to the Saudi government.
Campaign spokesperson Maddy McDaniel said that the ad, which the widow said was insensitive, would be cycled out next week as planned.
“There is no dispute that David McCormick demanded his hedge fund show support and loyalty to Mr. Khashoggi’s murderers, all to protect his own business interests,” spokesperson McDaniel said. “We have the utmost sympathy for what Mrs. Khashoggi has experienced.”
She said the campaign spoke with the widow, Hanan Elatr Khashoggi, who says the ad is insensitive and incorrectly identifies her late husband as an American.