COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A pro-labor political organization is capitalizing on Ohioans’ disdain for NBA superstar and native son LeBron James in a series of ads targeted at U.S. Senate candidate Josh Mandel.
Workers’ Voice, the super PAC of the AFL-CIO, unveiled the $100,000 ad buy Tuesday, ahead of Game Four of the NBA finals.
Images depict Mandel, backlit with arms outstretched, striking the James pose made famous in the Nike “Witness” ads, with the words, “Witness… The Mandel Investigation.”
Mandel, a Republican from suburban Cleveland, is challenging incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown in one of the most expensive and closely watched Senate contests this year.
The FBI is investigating contributions to the campaigns of Mandel and U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci, another Republican, by employees of Ohio businessman Ben Suarez. The probe is focused on the fact that the contributions arrived within a month’s time and the employees who gave tended to be first-time political donors of limited financial means.
Campaign finance laws prohibit donating in the name of another person, a method sometimes used to skirt contribution limits. Suarez International has said the employees gave freely and used their own money.
Renacci, seeking a second term representing Ohio’s 16th Congressional District, is being challenged by Rep. Betty Sutton, a Democrat who was forced into the race by redistricting.
Mandel has not been implicated in any wrongdoing. He returned $105,000 in donations by Suarez employees, and Democrats have seized on the issue in their attacks against him.
Izzy Santa, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Republican Party, defended Mandel’s fiscal record as Ohio state treasurer — and said it is Brown who should more aptly be tied to the heartbreak James brought to the state.
James was playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers during the “Witness” Nike campaign. A native of Akron, he famously left the team in 2010 to join the Miami Heat. The Heat are ahead 2-1 in the playoffs heading into Tuesday’s game.
“The web ads show more of a similarity between Sherrod Brown and LeBron James, both have broken their promises to Ohioans,” Santa said in an email. “Brown and his labor allies are desperate and they will do and say anything to hide the fact that Brown’s record of failure has been disastrous for Ohio’s hardworking families and small businesses.”
A Brown campaign spokeswoman said outside groups have spent more than $8 million in efforts to manipulate Brown’s record.
Mandel’s campaign spokesman declined comment.
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Mandel campaign: http://jobs.joshmandel.com
Brown campaign: http://www.sherrodbrown.com
