Detroit attorney Dana Nessel is running for attorney general of Michigan using a novel campaign tactic: telling voters to categorically reject candidates with penises.
Famous for leading the charge to legalize same-sex marriage in the Wolverine State, Nessel comes to the race with solid progressive bona fides and the rhetoric to match the national mood. In her latest campaign ad, she says, directly addressing the camera:
I want to tell you what you can expect me not to do. I will not sexually harass my staff, and I won’t tolerate it in your workplace either. I won’t walk around in a half-open bathrobe, and I’ll continue to take all sex crimes seriously just like I did as a prosecutor.
In August, Nessel announced her bid to succeed Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, a Republican, who is term-limited from running for that position again.
If successful, Nessel will be the state’s second female attorney general after Jennifer Granholm, who went on to serve two terms as Michigan’s governor from 2003-2011.
The campaign ad runs through a litany of high-profile men accused of sexual misconduct; images of Roy Moore, Charlie Rose, and Donald Trump are splashed across the screen as Nessel makes her argument. She says, “If the last few weeks has taught us anything, it’s that we need more women in positions of power, not less.”
While pillorying the idea that an all-female ticket in Michigan is somehow untoward–and in fact would actually be good–Nessel issues voters a smirk-worthy proposition befitting one-time fictional candidate Leslie Knope. She asks:
Who can you trust most not to show you their penis in a professional setting? Is it the candidate who doesn’t have a penis? I’d say so.
Her logic, of course, is flawless.
[image via screengrab]
Follow Colin Kalmbacher on Twitter: @colinkalmbacher
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