Former Rep. Pete Hoekstra, a leading Republican gubernatorial candidate in Michigan, thought it’d be a good idea to run a xenophobic, borderline-racist campaign ad during the Super Bowl. As Laura reported a day later, Hoekstra insisted the commercial “has been very, very effective.”
Now would be a good to time to ask, “Effective for whom?”
Soon after Hoekstra’s ad aired, a surprising number of Republicans conceded they were uncomfortable with it. A few days later, the gubernatorial candidate scrapped the website featuring the ad.
It was too late. Yesterday, a survey from Public Policy Polling suggested the damage has already been done.









