LA-Gov: Gumbo PAC, a super PAC funded by the DGA, is using its two opening ads to target each of the major Republican candidates competing against Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards in the Oct. 12 all-party primary. Advertising Analytics tells Politico that the size-of-the-buy is $302,000.
Each of Gumbo PAC’s spots is entirely devoted to hitting one of the GOP contenders. Their ad against wealthy businessman Eddie Rispone begins with the spot comparing “real Louisiana crawfish” to imported ones from China, which the narrator says “look alike, but we can tell the difference.” The commercial then argues that while Rispone promises to look out for state workers, he’s repeatedly failed to pay his employees or their medical bills. The narrator continues, “And Rispone got caught trying to hire foreign workers instead of people here in Louisiana.”
Gumbo PAC’s commercial against Rep. Ralph Abraham begins with 2014 footage of the candidate from his successful first congressional campaign declaring, “If elected, I’ve told you that I would donate my salary to St. Jude’s and the Independence organization.” The narrator then tells the audience, “That’s right. Abraham promised to donate his salary to sick children and wounded veterans. But for years, Abraham secretly pocketed that salary even though he’s worth more than $12 million.”
The ad cites a January story from The Advocate’s Tyler Bridges that reported that Abraham had indeed been collecting his $174,000 congressional salary despite that 2014 pledge. The congressman’s spokesperson, Cole Avery, told Bridges that Abraham had stuck with his promise through his first term, but he had to abandon it after learning that congressional rules capped how much he could earn from his medical practice. Avery said, “Because of the loss of income, it was not a pledge he could continue beyond the first term,” and, “There’s the belief that something should be one way, and then there’s the reality.”
Avery insisted that his boss had “ kept his commitment” during his first term, but he refused to respond when Bridges asked him how much money Abraham had donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the Independence Fund. However, Avery did admit that he didn’t believe that Abraham had ever announced that he would start collecting his taxpayer-funded paycheck. Bridges writes that, while Abraham didn’t extend his promise to donate his salary during his 2016 re-election campaign, his website continued to list it in his campaign platform.