The National Republican Senatorial Committee has announced they will be dispersing baseball cards trolling Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) — who as of January was still unknown to 36% of his own constituents — at a Republican leadership conference in Michigan this weekend.
The Hill reports that the NRSC released a statement this week, and the committee wants to draw attention to the fact that Peters “remains the most unknown senator in the country because he has failed to stand up for the principles and priorities of Michigan voters.”
The conference, which will feature a keynote address by Vice President Mike Pence, aims to bring together “conservative leaders from across America to discuss solutions to the critical issues facing our nation,” according to the organization’s website. In addition to Pence, both Secretary of Education Betsy Devos and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy will make speeches at the event.
Attendees will also have the opportunity to collect the novelty baseball cards, all of which have Peters’ first name misspelled and also feature a nickname, reports the Hill. Some of the names include “Barry Peters, aka Socialists’ BFF” and “Harry Peters, aka He’s Just There,” and “Jerry Peters, aka The Invisible Man,” notes the news agency.
Veteran and Businessman John James announced in June that he would run for the senate seat against Peters in 2020, telling Fox News that he sees it as an opportunity to continue his service and put Michigan first, according to Politico.
“I believe that right now nothing has changed. I still have a passion for service, I still have a clear vision, understand that service before self,” said James.
In the 2018 midterm election, James ran an unsuccessful Senate bid against three-term Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), who went on to win by 7 points, according to CNN. However, Stabenow experienced a far more narrow margin of victory than she has in past elections; in 2012, she won by more than 20 points, reports the New York Times.
Despite being unsuccessful in politics so far, James exhibits an impressive professional record. The Times notes that, after graduating from West Point, he “spent eight years in the Army, including service in Iraq. He is the president of his family run business, a global provider of logistics support for Fortune 500 companies.”
Although James has grown in popularity across the country, he has made Michigan issues a central focus of his campaign. “I plan on using every resource at my disposal … to shed light in the dark spaces of Michigan that have been underrepresented and neglected by Senator Peters,” James told Fox News in August.
“I’m going to bring Michigan’s issues and take them to Washington, and work with anyone and everyone to make sure we create pipelines of prosperity into our neglected neighborhoods and our forgotten farms,” says James, according to the news outlet.