Former Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) is out with a new ad referring to himself as a superhero and countering the barrage of allegations that his last spot offered a racist portrayal of Asians.
Last week Hoekstra, who is running for Senate against Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), went on the air with an ad dubbing her "Debbie Spend-it-now," opening with an Asian woman in what appears to be a rice paddy explaining in accented, broken English how her economy is booming thanks to Stabenow's spending.
In the new ad released Thursday, Hoekstra does nothing to directly address the racial overtones that have earned him rebukes from Asian-American groups and fellow lawmakers, but blames the media for blowing the issue out of proportion.
"In spite of what the media says, this race is a chance to tell Washington to spend it not," Hoekstra says in the ad.
He doubles down on his new nickname for Stabenow, which appears repeatedly on the screen, dubbing himself Pete "Spend-it-not" Hoekstra.
"Citizens Against Government Waste rates Sen. Stabenow 'hostile' and me, Pete Hoekstra, a 'superhero,' " he says.
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