At home, two-term Republican Sen. John Boozman is known as an unassuming figure who talks almost in a whisper and is more comfortable chatting about policy or the University of Arkansas Razorbacks’ football record than giving fiery speeches.
But you wouldn’t know that if you turned on the television lately.
“John Boozman has always stood up to the gun-grabbing liberals of Washington,” a local sheriff says in one Boozman ad. In another, fellow Republican Sen. Tom Cotton hails Boozman as “our conservative fighter.” Boozman promises to finish building the wall along the U.S. border with Mexico that Donald Trump promised.
The sharper tone is Boozman’s effort to deal with an awkward problem as he seeks reelection in a Republican stronghold that Trump won overwhelmingly two years ago: Conservative voters are restive with Trump out of power, and GOP candidates are expected to sound bristling mad about it.
Boozman said the ads are not inconsistent with his low-key style and that he is just focusing on concerns he is hearing from voters.
“These are the things that are on people’s minds, so what we’re trying to do is address those issues and help them understand we’re at the forefront of working hard to get something done,” Boozman said. “I’m not an individual that screams and hollers. I’m an individual that gets to work and gets results.”