Healthcare reform ads target Ensign

LAS VEGAS, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- Advocates for a "public option" healthcare reform measure are targeting Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., in attack ads, political observers say.

In ads that were set to run for a week in Las Vegas and Reno, Nev., attempts are made to connect Ensign's opposition to healthcare reform measures with the $800,000 in campaign contributions he's received from the insurance industry, the Las Vegas Sun reported Monday.

The Sun says the ads ask, "Why did John Ensign side with the insurance companies instead of us? Follow the money."

The ads were paid for by Health Care for America Now, which the newspaper reported is an umbrella organization that supports including the public plan option as part of healthcare industry reforms being considered by Congress.