Larkin: Attack ads from Schrier a ‘sad attempt’ to distract voters

With Rep. Kim Schrier’s only debate with Republican challenger Matt Larkin only a week away, their respective stance on abortion is becoming the focal point of the Congressional race and the focus of Schrier’s ad campaign strategy.

“The truth is, these negative attack ads, they’re just a sad attempt to mislead voters and distract from real extremism, which is Kim Schrier,” Larkin said in response to the commercials on The John Curley and Shari Elliker Show. “If you look at her voting record, John, she votes with Nancy Pelosi 100% of the time. Not 96 or 97%. I’m not rounding up. It’s a literal 100%. AOC doesn’t even vote with Pelosi 100% of the time. But Kim Schrier does and that’s extreme.”

One of Schrier’s more recent commercials called Larkin “the definition of dangerous,” stating he would “support a national ban on abortion.”

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“I would want to see exactly what’s in the bill,” Larkin said, responding to John’s question if he would back a federal abortion ban. “But I will say this, I’m really happy with where it’s at, at the state level right now.”

Schrier has spent north of $5.5 million on her campaign, according to last month’s Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings, dwarfing Larkin’s current campaign spending of approximately $500,000. Schrier has spent twice the amount she used for the 2020 general election on her 2022 campaign.

Despite the gap in funding, Larkin’s campaign has found an audience rallying around his tough-on-crime approach to support law enforcement, something seen in his campaign slogan: “Make crime illegal again.”

“There’s a sense that crime is legal right now. One thing that we’re going to do is incentivize the hiring of law enforcement at the state and local level from the federal government,” Larkin said. “That includes sending federal grants to provide law enforcement, to the state and local governments, to incentivize hiring to give them more equipment and more tools and more training.”

While Schrier won the primary vote to represent District 8 by more than 30 points, the Republican vote tallied 49.1%, just a half-percent difference from the Democrat vote, according to Ballotpedia. Larkin led the way with 17%, followed by King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn (14.4%) and Jesse Jensen (12.9%).

“The polls are trending in the right direction, we’re right where we want to be,” Larkin said to John and Shari. “The momentum is clearly shifting in favor of the Republicans, because a lot of people do want transparency in the federal government. It’s not surprising to see that people are wanting to have some balance of powers and checks and balances. Having full control of the federal government from one party is not a good thing.”

Schrier and Larkin are set to debate at Central Washington University Oct. 28 at 7:00 p.m. live on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM.

Listen to John Curley and Shari Elliker weekday afternoons from 3 – 7 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

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