MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Republican Derek Chen has released a campaign ad in the race to be Alabama’s next state auditor.
The 30-second ad will begin running in targeted statewide markets on Tuesday. The weekly ad buy is $173,000 for broadcast and streaming, his campaign said on Monday.
The ad touts that Chen, an attorney from Vestavia Hills, is not a career politician but that he has been a constant supporter of President Donald Trump.
After stating that Chen was born in America, the ad also mentions that he is the son of legal immigrants from Taiwan “who were fleeing Chinese aggression.”
Rep. Leigh Hulsey, R-Helena, appears in the ad, titled “One of Us,” to say that Chen will protect taxpayers and lower prices if elected.
“This ad is another step in getting our message out across Alabama,” Chen said in a news release announcing the ad. “People are tired of do-nothing politicians and want someone who will take the job seriously, look out for taxpayers, and support President Trump and Coach Tuberville’s agenda to bring costs down.”
Opponents and fundraising
Chen will face off with incumbent Andrew Sorrell in the Republican primary in less than a month.
As of the beginning of this month, Chen’s war chest was more than ten times larger than Sorrell’s.
Chen led the field in March fundraising with an intake of $102,000, according to campaign finance reports.
A majority of his fundraising last month came from a donation of $80,000 from an individual in southern California. The same person donated $50,000 to his campaign in February.
Chen also brought in two $10,000 donations from FarmPAC – the Alabama Farmers Federation’s political action committee – and SVBII PAC. Chen has been endorsed by ALFA.
He spent $5,000 in March and entered April with $673,000 on hand.
Sorrell raised $7,400 in March, all from individual donors. Sorrell had been running for secretary of state since last year but changed course to run for reelection as state auditor in early January.
He spent $51,000 – mostly on advertising – and headed into April with a war chest of $66,000.
Madison County Commissioner and Democrat Violet Edwards brought in $3,050 in March, including a $1,000 donation from the infrastructure-focused Three Notch Group PAC.
She spent $2,700 and entered this month with $11,200.
Edwards is running unopposed for the Democratic nomination.
In addition to fundraising, all three candidates have loaned money to their own campaigns over the course of the race. Chen has loaned himself $410,000, Edwards has loaned $2,000 and Sorrell has loaned $150,100.
The primary is May 19. The deadline to register to vote in the primary is May 4.