Ad supporting Republican Kari Lake stars homophobic, Islamophobic, misogynistic pastor

You don’t fall for the so-called Ordinary Joes who appear in political campaign ads, do you?

Me, neither.

You know what I’m talking about.

A campaign commercial opens with a scene at a kitchen table, or in a suburban driveway, or maybe in the “workshop” of some Joe Sixpack, who waxes mournfully about how the ideas of Candidate A would cause terrible trouble for regular folks and should be rejected in favor of Candidate B.

We presume – because we should – that any John Q. Public appearing in such an ad is either a paid actor, a shill or a friend doing the candidate a solid.

The last thing a political campaign wants is for that person to become the focus of media attention.

The backstory of the man in the Kari Lake ad

Particularly the kind of attention that not only detracts from the candidate’s messaging but makes the candidate look bad.

Or, in the case of Kari Lake, Arizona’s Republican candidate for governor … OOPS!

An anti-Katie Hobbs commercial made to support Lake features a man named Justin Erickson, who describes himself in the ad as a father of five who runs a small business.

That may well be true, but it apparently is not the whole truth.

David Corn of Mother Jones looked into Erickson, and says in an article that Erickson is also a homophobic, Islamophobic, right-wing preacher who believes women should be in “submission” to men.

So, I guess we could add misogynist to the list.

Justin Erickson said Muslims are 'satanic'

According to Corn’s article, Erickson in sermons has called Islam “satanic.”

He has said of the LGBTQ community, “The LAPD has a statistic, when they, when the officers come on to a crime scene and there is a murder and the murder itself has been an absolute bludgeoning, multiple stab wounds, multiple gunshot wounds, they immediately begin with the premise that this is a homosexual love quarrel.”

And Corn points out that the website of Erickson’s Desert Bible Church says, “we affirm the headship of the husband and the submission of the wife as a living demonstration of Christ in His relationship to the church.”

Maybe he posed the question to the wrong person?

The ad apparently was funded by the Republican Governors Association (headed still by Arizona’s own Gov. Doug Ducey) in partnership with the Yuma County Republican Party.

As election nears: Ducey steps away from criticism of Kari Lake

I’m no political scientist or media relations specialist, but using a homophobic, Islamophobic misogynist in a campaign ad strikes me as an unusual strategy for a political candidate.

Although with many Republicans these days, maybe not.

Corn said he tried to ask both Erickson and Lake about the ad but got no response to his request for comment.

Although, given what Erickson preaches about spousal relationships, maybe he should have asked Lake’s husband.

Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.

For more opinions content, please subscribe.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Pro Kari Lake ad stars a homophobic, misogynistic pastor