BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – Louisiana Senator John Kennedy ushered in the weekend with the release of a new political campaign ad that’s garnering quite a bit of attention.
The 30-second spot, which appeared on the 70-year-old Republican Senator’s social media platforms this past Friday (September 30), includes the following language:
Violent crime is surging in Louisiana. Woke leaders blame the police. I blame the criminals. A mom should not have to look over her shoulder when she’s pumping gas. I voted against the early release of violent criminals and I opposed defunding the police. Look, if you hate cops just because they’re cops, the next time you get in trouble, call a crackhead.
Senator John Kennedy
The senator has been vocal in his desire to see more police officers hired in Louisiana and in increasing their salaries.
While some praise Kennedy’s approach to his most recent political ad, others are labeling it as racist and saying they feel it fails to offer a comprehensive solution to Louisiana’s shocking crime statistics.
One politician who spoke out against the ad is Baton Rouge-based Gary Chambers, a local social justice advocate who’s running for U.S. Senate.
Chambers shared his response to Kennedy’s ad on social media, saying, in part, “He (John Kennedy) spends more time dropping one liners than actually doing his job.”
The 39-year-old Democrat also posted a video regarding the spot, implying that it had racist undertones.
Towards the end of his video, Chambers stated, “We need leaders who have real solutions to the problems in our communities.”
Kennedy has been in office since 2017, and at this time, he’s campaigning against 12 other candidates in hopes of maintaining his position as U.S. Senator for Louisiana.
A primary election is scheduled to take place November 8.
Just over a month later, local voters will head to the polls and elect one member to the U.S. Senate in a general election on Saturday, December 10.