Scott McAdams, the Democratic nominee in the Alaska Senate race, has a fun new ad that features something people wouldn’t have expected to see: A Democratic candidate promising to follow in the path of the late Republican Sen. Ted Stevens, who the Dems famously defeated in 2008 in the wake of an ethics scandal.
McAdams has been lagging in third place in the polls, behind the more high-profile Republican nominee Joe Miller and incumbent GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who is running a write-in campaign after her upset narrow primary loss to the Tea Party-backed Miller. So in this quirky and memorable ad, McAdams pitches himself as a down-home guy who is having trouble getting used to wearing a neck tie.
“I’m Scott McAdams, and my wife Romy told me I better start wearing a tie — so I can look ‘Senatorial,’” McAdams says in a voiceover, as he looks at all different kinds of ties. “Now, if it takes a tie to finally get the same share of oil royalties as Louisiana, then I’ll wear one. And if it takes a tie to stop Joe and Lisa from outsourcing our jobs to China, or our tax dollars to the Lower 48, then that’s a good reason, too.
Finally, McAdams seems to settle on a western-style bolo tie — but then also puts his hand on an Incredible Hulk tie, which used to be a signature motif of Stevens. “I approve this message, because for me, it’s about Alaska, and getting our fair share again. We used to have a Senator like that.”
Eric Kleefeld
Eric Kleefeld joined TPM as an intern for the final months of the 2006 midterm elections, and then kept showing up for work. His other interests include guitars, old comic books and the politics of various English-speaking countries.
Facebook Conversations
Questions about commenting with non-Facebook accounts like Yahoo, or other concerns? Click here to read the TPM Commenting FAQ.