U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) said Friday he can’t control a political ad denounced by the AARP, despite his being the chairman of the committee that released the ad.
The ad running on local TV stations across Michigan attacks Republican Mike Rogers, who’s running against Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin in Michigan’s U.S. Senate race. The winner will replace Sen. Debbie Stabenow, who’s retiring at the end of her current term.
The ad, released by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, features a former AARP official attacking Rogers for ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
The Michigan AARP said the ad misleads viewers to think the organization is attacking Rogers.
AARP Michigan State Director Paula Cunningham said the ad has “alarmed” the non-partisan senior citizen advocacy group.
“When AARP’s name is misused by a campaign, we ask that it be taken down,” said Cunningham in a written statement.
Peters is the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the group that released the TV ad. But he said the group behind the ad is separate from the committee.
“It is an independent expenditure. So it’s separate from my work as the chair,” Peters told reporters Friday. “The independent expenditures operate completely separate from the committee.”
Slotkin demurred when asked about the ad. She insisted she is prevented, by law, from coordinating with the campaign committee behind the ad.
