Pete Ricketts launched his first post-primary TV ads Tuesday, urging Nebraska voters to focus on which party controls the Senate.

“A Democratic Senate controlled by Hillary Clinton and Ted Kennedy promises an agenda of higher taxes, more government spending and liberal judges,” Ricketts warns in the commercials.

In Nebraska, it’s not just a contest between himself and Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson, the Republican Senate nominee said in a telephone  interview from Omaha.

“This is a national race that could determine who controls the U.S. Senate,” Ricketts declared.

Pointing to his own fiscally conservative record, Nelson said Ricketts has expressed support for a national sales tax that would raise taxes for 95 percent of Nebraskans and has endorsed Social Security reform that would add $2 trillion to the national debt in 10 years.

“My record trumps his rhetoric,” Nelson said during a telephone news conference from Washington.

As a senator, Nelson said, he has voted for six major tax cuts and in support of pay-as-you-go budgeting restrictions to prevent additional deficit spending.

Nelson said he has voted against more than $5 trillion in federal spending.

As governor before that, he said, he cut sales and income taxes twice.

The opening round of Ricketts ads, Nelson said, is “just the start of what they’re going to try to do” in distorting the choices in this year’s Senate race.

“They’re running in the twilight zone,” he said.

“People know my record of cutting taxes and watching spending,” Nelson said. “I’ve worked hard for responsible budgeting.”

Nebraska voters need to carefully weigh the possibility that Nelson’s re-election could give Democrats control of the Senate if Republicans lose a number of seats in this November’s hotly-contested election, Ricketts said.

U.S. Supreme Court judges like John Roberts and Samuel Alito wouldn’t clear the Judiciary Committee, he said, and issues like so-called partial-birth abortion wouldn’t reach the Senate floor.

Those, he said, are some of “the consequences” at stake.

The TV ads include photos of both Kennedy and Clinton.

Ricketts said Nelson misrepresents his position on a national sales tax. A consumption tax is just one of a number of  options, including a flat tax, that ought to be on the table when tax reform is considered, he said.

In his TV ad, Ricketts promises to “work to cut your taxes, cut spending and protect our values.”

Ricketts identifies himself as a Reagan Republican committed to low taxes and limited government.

The Nebraska Democratic Party already has aired two TV commercials since the May 9 primary election trumpeting Nelson’s support for ethanol development and funding to battle methamphetamine.

The Ricketts TV buy appears to be about $115,000 for a week of statewide ads. He declined to confirm those estimates.

Reach Don Walton at 473-7248 or at dwalton@journalstar.com.