John James brings out famed high school coach for first TV ad of fall campaign
Political football? John James is ready to play.
The Republican businessman and former Army helicopter pilot running for the open 10th Congressional District seat anchored in Macomb County unveiled his first TV ad of the general election campaign on Thursday, featuring in it none other than state Hall of Fame high school football coach Al Fracassa, who James played for at Birmingham Brother Rice in the late 1990s.
Seated on a football field as James runs a route to catch a pass, the 89-year-old Fracassa begins the ad saying, "From the time I coached him in high school, I knew John James had something special."
Then, after a beat, he continues: "But it wasn't football."
James flashes a stunned look at his former coach, then smiles, as Fracassa − who is credited with making Brother Rice a powerhouse over his 44-year tenure there, winning nine state championships before retiring in 2013 and notching 430 wins, which stands as the second most coaching wins in Michigan high school history − talks up James' experience as a businessman and a soldier.
James then takes over with a campaign statement, saying there are too many "quitters" in Washington and that Michigan needs "new blood who won't quit until we lower prices and bring back manufacturing."
James played on the defensive line at Brother Rice. You can watch the 30-second ad which will begin airing locally on Thursday here.
The ad, with its easy banter and local flavor, is a far cry from the first ad James ran in his unsuccessful race for U.S. Senate against Democratic incumbent Sen. Debbie Stabenow in 2019. In that ad, he talked about his service in Iraq and showed off a Hellfire missile as his campaign framed him as a "conservative warrior." The Fracassa ad, meanwhile, could connect with suburban voters in a different, less militaristic way.
Fracassa ends the ad by saying James is still "coachable."
After failing to unseat Stabenow and then U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, another Democrat, in 2020, James this year is running for an open seat in a newly drawn district that includes much of southern Macomb County as well as parts of Oakland County around Rochester and Rochester Hills. His Democratic opposition is former Macomb County prosecutor and judge Carl Marlinga, who is well known, but political handicappers believe James may have the edge in the district in a year when Republicans could have an advantage in House races nationally.
As for touting his years at Brother Rice, James − who hasn't lived in the new district but in Farmington Hills − may want tread lightly, however. Warren De La Salle, the best team in the state and very much in the new 10th District, is hosting Brother Rice at home on Sept. 16.
Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@tsspangler.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Famed high school football coach featured in John James' TV ad
