Democrat Abdul El-Sayed on Tuesday became the first Michigan Senate candidate to go on the air with a TV ad, which touts his Michigan roots, biography and endorsements by the United Auto Workers union and progressive icon Bernie Sanders.
The one-minute spot starts with a voiceover, saying, “There is a man from Michigan who knows how great we once were and how great we can be again.” It includes another voiceover that says he’ll “take on the powerful” and closes with Sanders joking, “Don’t worry about his name.”
El-Sayed’s campaign said it is initially spending $400,000 to air the ad, produced by Fight Agency, in TV markets including Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing and Flint and on digital platforms, with more to come.
El-Sayed, a former public health official from Ann Arbor, is seeking the Democratic nomination and is locked in a fierce campaign battle with U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens of Birmingham and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow of Royal Oak.
They are vying to fill the seat that’s being vacated by U.S. Sen. Gary Peters of Bloomfield Township, a two-term Democrat who is retiring. It’s expected to be among the most expensive and closely watched races of the midterm elections this year.
The winner of the Aug. 4 primary is expected to face presumptive GOP nominee and seven-term former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers of White Lake Township.
El-Sayed has centered his campaign around a promise to “fight back” against Republican President Donald Trump’s administration, getting money out of politics and Medicare for All or government-funded health coverage that’s guaranteed for every American.
El-Sayed’s spending is in addition to multiple outside groups that are already running ads to influence the Senate contest.
With seven weeks until the Aug. 4 primary, at least five political groups have spent in support of Stevens in the Senate race over the last month on broadcast, cable and connected TV, for a total spent of over $8.85 million through June 15, according to media-buying vendors.
Another group is spending more than $5 million on reservations to hit the airwaves just in the month of June to promote a pair of ads promoting Morrow. Early voting in the August primary begins as soon as June 25, when municipal clerks start mailing absentee ballots to voters.
Another group, the Fighting for Michigan PAC, dropped an ad last week boosting El-Sayed, telling Axios that it will fund “a multimillion-dollar independent expenditure campaign” to back him, including direct mail, digital ads and organizing efforts.
mburke@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: El-Sayed in first Senate ad: ‘Take on the powerful’
Reporting by Melissa Nann Burke, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Melissa Nann Burke, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
