LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- The portrayal of a young Asian woman speaking broken English in a Super Bowl ad being run by U.S. Senate candidate Pete Hoekstra against Michigan incumbent Debbie Stabenow is bringing charges of racial insensitivity.
GOP consultant Nick De Leeuw flat-out scolded the Holland Republican for the ad calling it "appalling." De Leeuw opposes Democrat Stabenow's re-election but adds that "racism and xenophobia" aren't the way to go.
Hoekstra's Facebook page says that those "trying to make this an issue of race demonstrates their total ignorance of job creation policies."
He's hoping to get the same bump from his ad that now-Gov. Rick Snyder got with his 2010 Super Bowl ad portraying himself as "one tough nerd."
Both ads were created by media strategist Fred Davis of California-based Strategic Perception Inc.