Whether Americans are in blue or red states, rising crime has become a major concern. In Louisiana, after facing steep budget cuts, New Orleans now leads the nation in homicides, and Baton Rouge doesn’t fare much better, with some of the highest crime rates in the nation.
Sen. John Kennedy, who’s up for reelection, recently released a TV ad highlighting the problem of violent crime in his state.
While “woke leaders blame the police,” he says, “I blame the criminals.”
As he speaks, security camera footage of armed robberies is shown along with local headlines that read, “Shreveport, LA is Among the Most Dangerous US Metro Areas,” and another from Fox8, “Carjackings almost triple in New Orleans compared to this time last year.”
"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," he continues, referencing his vote on a 2018 bipartisan criminal justice bill, The First Step Act.
At the time, he explained the reason he opposed the measure is because it "favors criminals over victims."
While the Republican struck a serious tone throughout the ad, he concluded with a characteristic zinger: "Look, if you hate cops just because they're cops, the next time you get in trouble, call a crackhead."
New campaign ad from Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.): "If you hate cops just because they’re cops, the next time you get in trouble, call a crackhead." pic.twitter.com/krL6GU5PDQ
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) October 3, 2022
One Democratic challenger, Gary Chambers Jr., called the ad "racist."
I saw @SenJohnKennedy dropped a crime ad. He spends more time dropping one liners than actually doing his job. He’s a walking dog whistle, and I won’t let it slide.
— Gary Chambers (@GaryChambersJr) September 30, 2022
Help me send him home. We can take out the ??? Nov. 8th. Share and Donate for #MoreOfUs pic.twitter.com/OBFfun4LvM
The ad spot marks the third in his campaign and comes just weeks before the Nov. 8 jungle primary, where if he wins at least 50 percent of the vote, he'll also win the election outright.
In addition to his sizable war chest, which has $15.8 million cash on hand, recent polling has Kennedy up nearly 40 points over his closest challenger, Democrat Luke Mixon, who only has $600,000 on hand.