HIS AD TEAM IS PURE OBAMA-BEGICH
A nonpracticing surgeon who lives in Petersburg and Anchorage has made it official: Dr. Al Gross is running for U.S. Senate against incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan.
Gross is a registered nonpartisan but will attempt to run in the Alaska Democratic Party’s primary, which is open to non-Democrats who are either nonpartisan or undeclared. If he wins the primary, he’ll appear under the Democrat label on the General Election ballot.
Gross formed an exploratory committee in May and then toured the state before filing for office this week. His first campaign ad rollout indicates that his campaign consultant, Mark Putnam, is copy and pasting creative work he did when he helped former Sen. Mark Begich in 2014.
Back then, Putnam produced an ad with Begich riding his snow machine in an ad that some loved and others laughed at, but that left Begich with a frostbit right ear from the -40 escapade.
Mark Begich lost that election to rising star Dan Sullivan. Putnam’s first ad for Gross is basically a remake of the snow machine ad, but with Gross on his fishing boat in Southeast Alaska.
You can view the ad at this link.
Putnam also worked on President Obama’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns, and for several other prominent Democrats. He doesn’t work for Republicans.
Nonetheless, Al Gross wants voters to know he is purely nonpartisan. His particular issue is health care, and he is advocating for a plan that would make Medicare expanded for everyone. He is also pro-abortion, and believes in a federally established $15 minimum wage. He will fight climate change and hydrocarbons, and is opposed to the Pebble Mine.
As a nonpartisan, he has a tough road because there will likely be other entrants into the Democrats’ primary, and he’ll have to spend money just to appear on the ballot under the Democrat label in the 2020 General Election.
Unless, of course, the Democrats can’t find someone to run against Sen. Sullivan.
Read Must Read Alaska’s initial story in May about Gross’ exploratory committee.
