Mark Kelly praised Kean’s gun safety work as GIFFORDS PAC acknowledges error in ad

A $350,000 digital ad buy from GIFFORDS PAC opposing Rep. Tom Kean Jr.’s re-election in New Jersey’s 7th district mistakenly cites the Hawaii Invasive Species Protection Act as its source to attack the New Jersey Republican on gun safety positions.

Chris Harris, a spokesman for the group, said it was a mistake and that they are correcting the ad to reference a different bill, the Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023, to support claims that Kean “voted to cut millions from law enforcement.”

The bill, which narrowly passed in the House, never became law, and its ties to the claims are tenuous.

But PolitiFact, an independent fact-checking site, said suggestions that the bill would cut law enforcement “gives taxpayers a misleading impression” and was rated “Mostly False.”

Kean’s top political advisor, Harrison Neely, suggested that fixing the typo isn’t good enough.

“I really think this ad is a giant shameful lie, Neely said.  “They should be made accountable for just making things up.”

A 2017 voicemail obtained by the New Jersey Globe to Kean from Mark Kelly, then a gun safety advocate and Gabby Giffords’ husband — and now a Democratic U.S. Senator from Arizona and potential presidential candidate — praised Kean on his gun safety record.

“I want to thank you for everything you did there on this domestic violence bill in New Jersey. It certainly would not have been possible without all your help,” Kelly said.  “Me and Gabby and everybody at our organization really appreciate all the work you did on it.”

Harris doesn’t think Kelly’s old statement remains relevant.

“It‘s a shame that he didn’t continue his advocacy of public safety,” he said.

Neely pushed back on that premise, saying that Kean’s views “are the same in 2026 as they were in 2017.”

And Neely called on Democratic nominee Rebecca Bennett to denounce the GIFFORDS PAC ad.

“Rebecca Bennett has already shown she’s been corrupted by ambition and willing to lie her way through this race,” Neely said.  “But this ad is so egregious and shameful that if Bennett has even a shred of integrity left, she’ll denounce it immediately.”