This article is part of Ad Watch, a series examining claims made in political ads leading up to the Nov. 5 election. In the column, which 첥Ƶ revives during major election years, reporter Lindsay Weber researches claims made in political ads, puts them into context and reaches a “verdict” on the accuracy of the claims. If you have an ad for us to factcheck, email liweber@mcall.com with Ad Watch in the subject line. View all our election coverage at themorningcall.com/election.
The race
Democratic U.S. Rep. Susan Wild faces Republican challenger Ryan Mackenzie in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, which covers all of Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon counties and a small part of Monroe County.
It is expected to be a tight race that could determine which party claims control of the House of Representatives — has named the race a “toss-up” and the has called it a “race to watch.”
Wild is running for a fourth term representing the Lehigh Valley’s district; she was reelected in 2022 by a relatively slim 1.6 percentage points.
Before being elected, Wild was a solicitor for Allentown and partner with Allentown firm Gross McGinley. Mackenzie is a six-term Republican state representative from Lehigh County.
The ad
The ad features a man who is identified as “Officer Jeff Potts,” who appears at the beginning of the ad and narrates the rest of it. He says, “We are fighting fentanyl in our communities. Susan Wild has our back.”
The ad shows a photo of Susan Wild posing with several police officers.
Potts goes on to tout Wild’s record supporting law enforcement and border security, and says she has worked with “both parties to hire thousands of new border agents and breaking with Democrats to crack down on cartels.”
Potts then urges the viewer to “tell Susan Wild to keep leading by passing her new border security bill.”
The ad is paid for by the House Majority Forward, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit advocacy group that campaigns in favor of Democratic-backed causes. It is not associated with any specific candidate’s campaign.
501(c)(4) groups are sometimes referred to as “dark money” organizations because they are not legally required to disclose their donors and can raise and spend unlimited amounts.
Analysis
Wild is running for reelection in a competitive, “purple” district, so touting her record as a moderate Democrat and her bipartisan work is a strategy for Democrats to appeal to moderate and centrist voters.
The ad emphasizes Wild’s support for law enforcement and border security, and highlights how she broke with other Democrats to support stricter immigration laws.
Specifically, Wild supported an increase in funding for the Department of Homeland Security in 2019 under former President Donald Trump, which was supported by some, but not all, House Democrats. She has also backed the Republican-sponsored Dignity Act, an immigration reform bill that would increase border patrol staff; construct facilities in Latin America to vet migrants; and create a pathway to citizenship for “Dreamers,” people who were brought to the United States illegally as children.
However, the Mackenzie campaign has latched onto the ad to attack Wild because of Potts’ public employment history.
According to a. The article links to a PDF on the Lehigh County website that shows a list of Emmaus borough employees, their exact position and salary in 2019.
Potts is listed as an auxiliary officer making $17.95 an hour.
Potts also was interviewed for a
According to Emmaus’ website, auxiliary police officers perform duties assigned to them by the chief, “including but not limited to” tasks like providing protection at athletic events, patrolling parks or serving as crossing guards.
Potts is not currently listed on the Emmaus staff directory as an auxiliary officer, so it is unclear if he is still employed there; borough officials did not respond to a request for comment.
The ad came under criticism from Mackenzie, other Republican groups and Le-Hampton Lodge 35 FOP President Gene Hatcher.
“In the latest display of Susan Wild’s abysmal record on crime and the border, today we learn that the radicals supporting her are resorting to playing dress up in order to trick the voters,” Arnaud Armstrong, a spokesperson for Mackenzie for Congress, said in a news release.
Hatcher, in comments to the NY Post, accused Potts of “stolen valor” and said that Potts’ shirt and badge are not Emmaus uniforms, but were purchased independently.
“He puts on something that says ‘police officer’ and he’s not,” Hatcher said to the New York Post. “That’s impersonating a police officer in my opinion and the DA should investigate it.”
Wild has not responded to the criticisms. Her campaign is not involved in the ad — outside groups are legally barred from coordinating directly with candidate campaigns on advertising materials.
Verdict
The ad is partially misleading — specifically, the chyron that identifies the subject of the ad as “Officer Jeff Potts” is misleading, because Potts is in fact an auxiliary, part-time police officer.
Emmaus police Chief Jason Agpar did not respond to requests for comment, so 첥Ƶ was unable to verify what Potts’ role was, if any, in responding to illegal drugs in the Emmaus community. House Majority Forward also did not respond to questions about Potts’ employment history in time for a publication deadline. Potts could not be reached for comment.
Claims about Wild’s record on police officers are based in verifiable facts — she has voted in support of increasing funding for border patrol.
Previous Ad Watch coverage
Ad Watch: Anti-Susan Wild ad, which criticizes her record on immigration, lacks important context
Ad Watch: Anti-Lisa Scheller political ads partially misrepresent her stance on abortion
Ad Watch: Anti-Susan Wild ad attacking her legal work is missing crucial context
Reporter Lindsay Weber can be reached at Liweber@mcall.com.
