In a new campaign ad, Arizona Republican Senate candidate Jim Lamon — appearing as an Old West-style sheriff — shoots at an actor playing his political opponent, incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ).

The ad comes 11 years after Kelly's wife, former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-AZ), was shot in the head and almost killed during a mass shooting in Tucson, Arizona.

Lamon is a former business executive seeking the Republican Senate nomination in Arizona. In the ad, which is slated to air during the Super Bowl, Lamon appears to face off in a showdown against actors playing Kelly, President Joe Biden, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.After the Old West townspeople in the ad complain about "inflation," "open borders," and "gas prices," Lamon unholsters his gun and fires at the three Democratic officials, knocking their weapons out of their hands and sending them running away.

The spot also features cameo appearances by two right-wing Arizona law enforcement officials: Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb and National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd.

In 2011, a gunman shot Giffords and 18 other people at a "Congress On Your Corner" event in Tucson. Six people died in the mass shooting, which nearly killed Giffords and left her unable to complete her term in Congress.

This isn't the first time an Arizona Republican has shared his violent fantasies about enacting revenge on his political opponents.

Last November, staffers for Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) posted an "anime"-style video showing him decapitating Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and attacking Biden with swords.

After Gosar refused to apologize for the video, House Democrats censured him and stripped him of his committee assignments. Just two House Republicans, Reps. Liz Cheney (WY) and Adam Kinzinger (IL), joined all 221 House Democrats in voting to censure Gosar.

Kelly was elected in 2020 after Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) died, and is now running for a full term this November.

Lamon, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump's former acting director of national intelligence Ric Grenell and Rep. Mike Garcia (R-CA), is one of more than a dozen Arizona Republicans running in the August 2 Senate primary.

The Cook Political Report has rated the race a toss-up.

Reprinted with permission from American Independent