Matt Lindland Loses Oregon House Bid, Did Anti-MMA Campaign Ads Hurt?

The mixed martial arts fighter Matt Lindland lost his bid for the Oregon legislature yesterday, and it raises the question of whether the ads from his opponent, who attacked him fro his involvement in MMA, hurt his candidacy:

Lindland lost to Suzanne VanOrman by a healthy margin, about 17 percent, so I seriously doubt that the anti-MMA ads were what cost him the election. But it's still a shame to know that we live in a country where calling a candidate a cage fighter is considered an effective attack.