New Kean TV ad claims Malinowski doesn’t fight ‘for the little guy’

Republican congressional candidate Tom Kean, Jr. is up with his first negative TV cable TV ad, panning Democratic incumbent Tom Malinowski for not fighting for the little guy.

The ad, “Not My Job,” uses audio of Malinowski saying it’s not his job to worry about personal protection equipment during the coronavirus pandemic, and attaches the freshman congressman to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as Malinowski is criticized for taking special interest money by putting cut-out heads of the two on cartoonish bodies.

Script: “Tom Malinowski has a big job.  He has big piles of special interest money to collect. And big tax increases to support.  So, when it came to protecting us during COVID…’it should not be my job to be worried about how many masks and gloves and gowns our health care personnel have.’ We get it, Tom. You’ve got a big job. It’s just not fighting for the little guy. I’m Tom Kean and I approve this message.”

“From the moment Tom Malinowski got to Congress, he has put self-service ahead of public service,” said Theresa Winegar, Kean’s campaign manager. “He is leaving his constituents hanging, spending his time and energy pursuing media appearances on MSNBC and appeasing party bosses like Nancy Pelosi with a nearly identical voting record. New Jersey’s 7th district deserves a Congressman who will work for all of us.”

The Malinowski campaign released an ad this morning touting the congressman’s work on issues related to small businesses on “Main Street.”  In that ad, Malinowski touts his refusal to take corporate PAC money.

“If Kean had any intellectual honesty he’d play the full clip — where Congressman Malinowski details the successful effort he led to secure N95 masks and set up the first public testing site for Somerset and Hunterdon Counties — work praised by both counties’ freeholders,” said Malinowski’s campaign manager Daniel Fleiss.  “Instead of spending his time deceptively editing audio from one of the Congressman’s 52 public events since the start of the crisis, Tom Kean should try his hand at helping constituents for a change, or maybe even holding a town hall.”

This story was updated at 5:32 PM with comment from Fleiss.