Republican gubernatorial candidate John Cox is about to get some six-figure help on his effort to gain traction and name recognition in California – thanks to a new independent expenditure campaign called “Restore Our Values,’’ which launches a new ad today attacking leading Democrats Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on the issue of values – and their past sexual transgressions.
-- The spot, called “California Deserves Better,” declares “Powerful men are finally being held to account and punished for inappropriate sexual conduct with women over whom they exercised power,’’ and features a parade of high profile #MeToo transgressors, including Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, Las Vegas mogul Steve Wynn, former “Today” show host Matt Lauer and former Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.).
-- Then comes the pitch: “Gavin Newsom had such a sexual relationship with a woman on his mayoral staff. Antonio Villaraigosa did the same with a reporter assigned to cover him. Newsom and Villaraigosa think the rules shouldn’t apply to them. They don’t want punishment — they want a promotion.” The tagline: “Californians deserve better: John Cox for governor.”Watch the ad, which debuts Monday, here.
This pitch is rather strange for the party of Donald Trump and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Also note that Phil Willon reports at
The Los Angeles Times:
Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich, in a new radio ad by GOP gubernatorial hopeful John Cox, calls the San Diego County businessman a “conservative champion” who is gaining momentum in California’s 2018 race for governor.
When he was speaker of the House in the 1990s, Gingrich carried on an extramarital affair with a House staffer. He later divorced his second wife and wed his paramour. Trump named her as ambassador to the Vatican.
