Marshall unveils toughest ad to date

Days before early voting commences in Nevada's 2nd Congressional District election, Democrat Kate Marshall hits the airwaves today with her toughest commercial to date against Republican Mark Amodei.

The 30-second spot goes beyond previous ads that charge Amodei will weaken Medicare and that he supported a $1 billion  tax increase while a state senator.  The Republican has parried both accusations.

The new one calls Amodei a "poster child for conflict of interest," in a reference to his serving as president of the Nevada Mining Association while a state senator.

It also accuses him of "hiding his unethical financial relationship with a judge," a reference to Judge James Todd Russell of Carson City, a former Amodei law partner who co-owns a piece of property with the candidate and who issued a ruling in an election case in May that helped Republicans.

In the spot, Marshall makes one clear campaign promise:  She won't accept any pay raises if elected to Congress.

If this was the most personal Marshall attack of the campaign, it triggered a personal response from the Amodei camp.

"There is only one term to describe Kate Marshall: hypocrite,"  spokesman Peter DeMarco said.  "This is a pure character attack from a flawed candidate who has no plan, no substance, and no credibility and has put her name behind quite possibly the most desperate attack ad we've seen."

Amodei and Marshall are scheduled to debate tonight on the "Face To Face" show moderated by Nevada political commentator Jon Ralston.

Early voting begins Saturday in the district that includes the Washoe Valley,  rural Nevada counties and outlying areas of Clark County.  Election Day is Sept. 13.

Amodei made what looked to be a tactical move in advance of tonight's debate.  Americans for Tax Reform announced that the Republican had again signed its "taxpayer protection pledge."

The pledge, which has been endorsed by virtually every Republican in Congress, commits signers to "oppose any and all efforts" to increase tax rates and the elimination of tax credits and deductions that are not offset by tax reductions elsewhere.

Amodei signed the pledge once before, when he ran for U.S. Senate in 2009.  DeMarco said Amodei renewed the anti-tax promise to re-emphasize his pledge.

"Just to be sure we all thought it wouldn't be bad to do one just for this race," he said.