Democrat Ro Khanna is touting his work for blue-collar workers in his latest ad.
Khanna, a former Obama administration official who is running against Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.) in the Silicon Valley district, features the former head of the local United Auto Workers talking about his work for the area.
{mosads}The move seems designed to boost Khanna with middle-class workers. His campaign has been viewed largely as a push from the tech industry against Honda’s more traditional union-Democratic coalition.
“I was the president of the UAW, of 6,500 members during the plant closure at the New United Motors Plant in Fremont, Calif.,” Sergio Santos says in the ad. “People lost their homes, everything they worked for. Ro Khanna wanted to help. And he delivered. He was instrumental in bringing a grant to help people get jobs. And when our workers seen that, they’re like, ‘Ah, this guy’s for real.’ Ro really wants to make a difference. Those cameras are gone, and Ro was still there trying to make things happen.”
Khanna and Honda are locked in a hard-fought battle. Khanna has more money in the bank heading into the June all-party primary, and it’s expected that he and Honda will face off in the fall in the heavily Democratic district.