Priorities USA Action, a pro-Obama super PAC, is launching a television ad in New Hampshire on the day Republican Mitt Romney visits the state.
The group approaches a topic that many Democrats have moved on from, Romney’s time at Bain Capital. The 30-second ad attacks Romney for his work with Holson Burns, a photo supply company in Claremont, N.H., that closed its plant after Bain consolidated its assets.
“If Mitt Romney wins, the middle class loses,” the ad reads.
The Obama campaign backed away from attacking Romney for his record at Bain after Republicans, and some Democrats, accused the campaign of attacking private equity. The Obama campaign has refuted those claims, saying they are calling in question Romney’s record, not the entire industry.
The Romney campaign called this latest ad a distraction and plugged the campaign's latest attack on the president's "doing fine" comments, which were featured in a new television ad.
“President Obama’s allies are using false attacks to distract voters from the President’s out of touch comments that the private sector is ‘doing fine,’" Romney campaign spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg said in a statement. "Middle-class Americans aren’t doing fine and President Obama’s policies have not helped. 23 million Americans are struggling for work, incomes have fallen, and gas prices have doubled. On day one, Mitt Romney will put in place policies that will get the economy moving, bring back jobs, and help the middle class.”
Bain Capital issued a statement in reaction to the new ad, refuting the claims made by Priorities USA Action.
“While we understand that in a political campaign our exemplary 28-year record will be distorted, recent suggestions about Bain Capital’s involvement with Holson Burnes are simply false," the statement reads. "The Claremont, NH plant was closed in 2005, 10 years after Bain Capital sold its ownership stake in the company. During its ownership Bain Capital grew Holson Burnes dramatically, investing millions of dollars and a great deal of time to improve Holson Burnes’ competitiveness and building the Claremont, NH plant into the world’s largest manufacturing facility for photo albums."
It continues: “Bain Capital is focused on growing great companies and improving their operations. Mitt Romney retired from Bain Capital over 13 years ago. We are not a political organization, and take no public position on any candidate. We are extremely proud of our employees and management teams, who have grown revenues in over 80 percent of our 350 companies, which include over 100 start-up investments.”
Romney is campaigning in New Hampshire on Friday, holding events in Stratham and Milford. In January, Romney handily won the state’s primary, boosting the former neighboring governor in the primary race.