Launches first campaign TV ad.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: Lagging significantly in the race to supplant Mike Honda as the Democratic candidate to represent California’s 17th Congressional District in this November’s midterm elections, Ro Khanna has launched his campaign’s first television ad to raise his profile and help narrow the gap between him and the incumbent.
The ad, entitled “My Promise,” is a short, 30-second spot that outlines the cornerstones of Khanna’s platform. Namely, Khanna says that he will fight against corruption in Washington, and shun the “perks” that come with being a Congressional leader, painting himself as a representative of the common man who can finally give them a dependable voice on Capitol Hill.
“Isn’t it time Congress started living like the rest of us?” Khanna asks. “I’m committed to changing business as usual in Washington.”
Khanna vows to never take money from corporations and lobbyists, something he has iterated several times before during his campaign. He also says he will never take a pay raise, will not accept trips given to him on behalf of special interest groups, and will not accept the standard “gold-plated” pension plan given to members of Congress.
“The powerful have plenty of voices in Washington,” Khanna says as he concludes the ad. “It’s time you did, too.”
Producing a TV ad is not cheap, but even more costly is buying the necessary ad time. Khanna has no problem in that department, having out-raised Honda by a margin of nearly 4 to 1. Despite this, however, the most recent polls from late last month show that Khanna only has a 26% rating of support, while Honda has 45%. Meanwhile, Republican Vanila Singh Mathur, who entered the race in December on the Republican side, has 29%.
California’s 17th Congressional District has a heavy Asian American population. Just under 50% of the District’s population is of Asian descent, nearly twice as much as the Caucasian population. It employs a free-for-all “jungle primary” system, from which the top two candidates emerge and go head-to-head for the November election that ultimately decides who the Representative becomes.
The numbers on the Honda vs. Khanna battle heavily favor the incumbent, with the men polling 61% to 39%, respectively. When asked how they would vote without being given party affiliations, Honda still won out, indicative of his support and name-recognition within the community after having been in Congress since 2001.
Khanna’s ad can be viewed below: