BY WESLEY P. HESTER

Answering a TV ad released last week attacking Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Timothy M. Kaine, Democratic group Majority PAC is up with one of its own attacking his Republican rival, George Allen.

Last week, American Crossroads — a Karl Rove-founded super PAC — came out with a 30-second spot criticizing Kaine’s former role as Democratic National Committee chairman, a job he took while serving as governor.

Now, Majority PAC — a super PAC aimed at keeping Democrats in control of the U.S. Senate — is returning fire by going after Allen, a former U.S. Senator looking to win his seat back after losing it to Jim Webb in 2006.     

The 30-second ad, titled “Only One,” defends Kaine’s record as governor while blasting Allen’s record in the Senate.  

“He turned the largest budget surplus into a massive federal deficit, voted to weaken Medicare and gave tax breaks to companies who shipped our jobs overseas,” the narrator says.  

The ad begins running tonight in Richmond, Norfolk, Roanoke and the DC suburbs.

“It’s disappointing but not surprising that chairman Kaine’s allies are coming into Virginia on his behalf to attack George Allen, with this latest group supported by Senators Harry Reid, Chuck Schumer and Barbara Boxer,” responded Allen campaign spokeswoman Emily Davis. 

“But no attempt to rewrite Tim Kaine’s record will erase the fact that as governor he tried to raise taxes by billions, made significant cuts to higher education that drove up tuition costs by over 30 percent, and watched as Virginia’s unemployment rate more than doubled with 100,000 Virginians losing their job.”