Rep. Jim Jordan’s (R-Ohio) Democratic opponent Janet Garrett is targeting the six-term congressman this week with a new ad themed after “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
The ad begins with a video of Jordan denying allegations that he turned a blind eye to sexual assault involving Ohio State University wrestlers when he was their coach from 1986-1994.
The ad shows a woman sitting and writing a letter to Jordan. A female narrator describes the lawmaker’s goal as the “complete dominion over female minds and bodies” while a woman dresses in the signature “Handmaid’s Tale” costume.
“Dear Jim Jordan, you’re so smart,” the woman says in a voiceover. “You knew how it would happen — not because we don’t care, but because we were complacent, because we were not paying attention.”
“Your beliefs about women were crystal-clear,” she continues. “Violence against women? Acceptable. Equal pay? Unnecessary. Birth control and choice? Eliminated. Complete dominion over female minds and bodies was the goal, a male-dominated government and court system was the tool.”
The woman moves from the table to the wall, where she takes the handmaid’s costume off of a hook. “And we let you do it, didn’t we, Commander Jordan? You got away with it because when it mattered most, when we had the chance to raise our voice, we fell silent.”
The ad ends with a plea to “Stop Jim Jordan.”
Demonstrators have been evoking “The Handmaid’s Tale” images in protests for women’s rights across the country.
The television series is about a fictional totalitarian world in which women are treated as property of the state.
Jordan has been accused by multiple former wrestlers of ignoring sexual abuse they experienced at the hands of a former team doctor at Ohio State years ago. He has denied the accusations, saying he engaged in “conversations in the locker room” but did not know the seriousness of the matter.
“Conversations in a locker room are a lot different than allegations of abuse or reported abuse,” Jordan said, adding that “no one ever reported any abuse to me.”
Garett has slammed Jordan over the accusations, saying in July that “any allegation of sexual abuse against minors — or complicity regarding such abuse — is very serious.”
The right-leaning Rasmussen Reports rates the race as “strong Republican.”
Jordan over the summer announced his bid for Speaker of the House.