Chris Fields Ad: 'Vote for This Black Guy, Not That One'

The Chris Fields for Congress campaign posted two ads on YouTube Sept. 26, attacking U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison (DFL-MN) with racial themes:

• A short spot uses simple graphics with the message, "Vote for this black guy, not that one."
• A longer ad for the Republican says, "If anyone voted for Keith Ellison because he was black, well, that has worked out so well for black people."

Ellison appeared on MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Reports on Sept. 28 to discuss United States policy in the Middle East: "We really need to show the people of the region know that we’re on the side of human rights and democracy and we're not going to abandon them to extreme elements that would really try to replace a secular dictatorship with a religious one. We need to stay on the side of the people."

Fields tweeted about an April 2011 Facebook quiz response by Ellison communications director Matt Roznowski, claiming it showed the Ellison aide had conceded that election fraud was a problem. Roznowski responded that the context was a 2011 election in Waukesha, WI, and called the "deliberate misrepresentation about my private, personal Facebook page."

Ellison issued a statement after the Sept. 27 mass-shooting at Accent Signage in Minneapolis: "Just a few weeks ago, I visited the business with Mayor Rybak and was able to see their success firsthand. Now is a time for the Minneapolis metropolitan community to come together in mourning and solidarity."

In a post at Patch's Local Voices section, Fields called on Ellison to condemn remarks by U.S. Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver (D-MO), chairperson of the Congressional Black Caucus that Fields said "put race based loyalties and misguided political agendas ahead of their sworn duty to serve."