James: Democrat Leaders Care More About the Black Vote Than Black People

John James is the Republican challenger to U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) in Michigan’s U.S. Senate race. James is a combat veteran and businessman from Detroit who happens to be black. 

He appealed to black voters who overwhelmingly have voted for Democratic candidates in an ad released last week entitled “It’s Time to Wake Up.”

Watch below:

Here’s the transcript of his remarks in the ad: 

So Joe Biden has said that he believes Republicans don’t want black people to vote. 

I’m Republican, I want black people to vote. In fact, I want everyone to vote who is eligible to vote. 

I believe that a voteless people is a hopeless people.

The truth is the Democratic business model is reliant on keeping black folks reliant on the government. 

Countless people have died for our right to think for ourselves, yet Democratic leadership asks us to outsource our voice on a straight-ticket ballot to a godless party that neither represents our values nor our economic best interests. 

We’ve marched from Selma to New York. We’ve rebelled from Watts to Detroit and ain’t nothing changed in 50 years. 

The Democratic Party leadership cares more about the black vote than the black people. It’s time to wake up. It doesn’t have to be this way.  We can have a seat at both tables and we can elevate our people together.

James who trails Stabenow by a Real Clear Politics poll average of 10.4 points is a long shot to win in the state. He will need to peel away some of the black vote from Stabenow in order to knock off the incumbent in what could be a difficult year for Republicans. 

P.S. Be sure to read Kelvey Vander Hart’s profile of James here.