JD Vance, author and Republican Candidate for Senate in Ohio, has released a new campaign ad in which he asks “are you a racist?” and “do you hate Mexicans?” before blaming his mother’s addiction issues on immigrants.
The Hillbilly Elegy author released the 30-second video on Tuesday. “The media calls us racist for wanting to build Trump’s wall. They censor us, but it doesn’t change the truth,” Mr Vance says in the video.
“Joe Biden’s open border is killing Ohioans, with more illegal drugs and more Democrat voters pouring into this country,” he adds.
“This issue is personal. I nearly lost my mother to the poison coming across our border. No child should grow up an orphan. I’m JD Vance, and I approve this message because whatever they call us, we will put America first,” he says.
The video had received almost two million views on Twitter by Wednesday morning.
Many social media users harshly criticised the ad.
“With an increase in arrivals at the southern US border likely to happen in the coming weeks, we are going to see new levels of racist, fascist rhetoric from the usual suspects (JD, Stephen, Tucker, and Tom just to name a few). Be prepared,” author Peter Tinti tweeted before the video was released.
“Looks like JD Vance is first out of the gate with one of the more racist and xenophobic campaign ads you will ever see,” he later added.
“In a campaign marked by one shameless act after another desperately seeking traction, JD Vance releases an ad that starts with, ‘Are you a racist? Do you hate Mexicans?’ And ends with blaming the border for his mother’s long-term addictions,” attorney Ron Filipkowski wrote.
Indiana Republican Representative Jim Banks praised Mr Vance, tweeting that he “is the most articulate America First candidate in the USA. Please send him to the US Senate, Ohio!”
“American nationalist” and former Trump campaign advisor Steve Cortes wrote that it was “a fantastic message”, calling Mr Vance an “America First warrior”.
“Pay no attention to the smears of the Left and their complicit media allies. We have a country to save!” he added.
Mr Vance is running in the Republican primary to replace retiring GOP Senator Rob Portman. Other primary candidates include investment banker Mike Gibbons, former Ohio treasurer Josh Mandel, and Jane Timken, the former chair of the Ohio Republican Party.
The Cook Political Report considers Ohio a state that leans Republican, meaning whoever wins the GOP primary will be slightly favoured in the general election.
But polls have been close between the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, Representative Tim Ryan, and Mr Vance.
A poll from August by Redfield & Wilton Strategies showed that among likely voters, Mr Ryan was up by one point.
A poll by Public Policy Polling in March last year showed Mr Vance leading by two points against Mr Ryan.
But a Fox News poll in March of this year showed Mr Vance in third place in the GOP primary.
Emerson College found in a February poll that 62 per cent of Republican voters would be more likely to vote for a candidate endorsed by former President Donald Trump, who hasn’t yet supported a candidate in the Ohio race.
The Independent has reached out to the Vance campaign for comment.
