Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan, launched a final-stretch ad blitz Tuesday that links his Republican opponent Mike Rogers to the expansion of government surveillance powers. The ads, which include digital video and billboards with the tagline "Mike Rogers is watching you," draw on Rogers' congressional record, including his praise of the Patriot Act and a 2011 bill that would have let companies share emails with the NSA. The video also repeats a 2013 quote from Rogers dismissing privacy concerns about surveillance.
The campaign is betting that voter anxiety over surveillance technology, particularly Flock license-plate cameras, will resonate in a close race. Privacy complaints about law enforcement products have grown after reported abuses and misidentifications. Rogers' campaign previously said he "vehemently opposes unchecked use of Flock cameras" and noted that he left Congress before Flock was founded in 2017. The new ads show El-Sayed trying to connect Rogers' legislative history to current concerns anyway.
The Senate race is rated a toss-up, and Democratic paths to a majority depend on El-Sayed holding the seat. He is scheduled to rally with Barack Obama in late October and is expected to campaign with Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the final weeks, according to a source familiar with the matter. The ad blitz is part of a broader effort to rebuild the Democratic coalition after a contentious primary. [Source: WIRED]