Maryland rep to run first ad of Democratic presidential primaries

Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.), the only declared candidate for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, is launching the first ad of the 2020 presidential primaries.

The ad, titled “Dirty Word,” is set to air in Iowa on Sunday during the Super Bowl, Delaney’s campaign said Tuesday.

It is intended to cast Delaney as a candidate chasing cooperation across party lines in Washington. The “dirty word” in question: “bipartisanship.”

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“It’s true. We openly admit it. John Delaney said a dirty word in Davenport, then repeated it in Des Moines and Sioux City, too,” a narrator says in the video. “In fact, he’s been saying it all across the state.”

The ad then laces together a series of clips featuring Delaney calling for “bipartisanship” at campaign stops in Iowa.

“It might be a dirty word in Washington, but it seems to be awfully refreshing right here in Iowa,” the narrator says.

The ad buy only cost about $37,000, according to The Washington Post, and covers the Des Moines, Sioux City and Cedar Rapids markets.

But the Maryland Democrat is planning to spend another $1 million on similar ads in the coming weeks, according to the Post.

While Delaney is the only declared presidential hopeful in the Democratic field, there remains a number of rumored candidates, including Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), and former Vice President Joe Biden.