CNN —
Black state lawmakers in Michigan are asking the state’s attorney general and county prosecutors to investigate Republican House candidate Tom Barrett over a newspaper ad in a Black-owned newspaper that listed the wrong election date. I asked.
A complaint from the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus alleges that the Barrett campaign ran ads in the Michigan Bulletin, a Black-owned publication serving Lansing, instructing voters to vote on Election Day, Nov. 6. It alleges that the publication may have violated state law. November 5th.
Ingham County Prosecutor John DeWayne confirmed to CNN that his office received the complaint and notified the Michigan Department of Elections.
Barrett will face Democrat Curtis Hertel in the race to replace Democratic U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin in Mid-Michigan’s 7th Congressional District. Slotkin, who is running for the U.S. Senate, defeated Barrett by five points two years ago. House Republicans are eyeing at least two chances in Michigan to protect their slim majority. That includes the race for Slotkin’s seat, which Nathan L. Gonzalez’s Inside Elections rates as a toss-up.
Barrett campaign spokesman Jason Roe said the incorrect election date was “nothing more than a proofreading error.”
“Our campaign has focused on reaching out to the Black community and Black leaders because it is important to Sen. Barrett that the voices of all communities are heard in this election,” Roe said. Ta. “The newsletter’s publisher notified us of the error on Saturday, and we provided him with corrected art for next week’s issue.”
Michigan Bulletin President Marcus Jefferson told CNN that the issue was raised with Barrett after he was told the campaign had used an outdated template used in Michigan’s Aug. 6 primary. He said he has contacted Barrett’s team.
The ad, which ran in the paper’s Oct. 1 issue, was Barrett’s first ad in the Michigan Journal, Jefferson said.
“We’ve received criticism from all sides,” he said of the response to the false ad. Mr. Jefferson said he is telling readers, “I do not intend to misinform readers.”
The campaign noted that other mailers sent to Black voters had the correct election date on them.
But Democratic state Sens. Erica Geis and Sarah Anthony, who filed the complaint on behalf of the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus, said Barrett’s ads were published in other publications with the exact date. What is even more concerning is the fact that, as of Sunday, it is true. This error does not appear to have been corrected in the Michigan Report.
“At best, Tom Barrett and his campaign have committed a shocking oversight that will undoubtedly lead to confusion by black voters in Lansing. One reason is that they are still trying to correct the record. It does not appear to be the case,” the lawmakers wrote. “And at worst, this ad could be part of a deliberate strategy to ‘thwart’ Black voters by tricking them into voting the day after the 2024 election.”
Mr. Jefferson said he would publish a new, revised version of Mr. Barrett’s ad in the paper’s next issue Wednesday. The paper will also feature ads purchased by Hertel’s campaign.
CNN has reached out to the Michigan Attorney General’s Office for comment.
Slotkin defeated Barrett to win the 2022 Mid-Michigan District by just five points.
Michigan Republicans are appealing to minority groups, including Black voters, to secure gains among communities that typically make up the Democratic base.
Barrett has met with Black community leaders in the Lansing area, and in June, former President Donald Trump attended a roundtable discussion at a Black church in Detroit.
The Michigan Republican Party also aired a radio ad last month featuring Kwame Kilpatrick, the former Detroit mayor whose federal criminal sentence was commuted as one of Trump’s final acts as president.
Kilpatrick endorsed Trump earlier this year and spoke of supporting the former president in an ad citing “the survival of the nation.”
This story has been updated with additional reporting
