A Republican Senate candidate in Pennsylvania ran an ad during the Super Bowl featuring the right-wing chant “Let’s Go Brandon”.
Dave McCormick is running in the GOP Senate primary in the Keystone state. The ad features the chant, which is a euphemism for “f*** Joe Biden” amid headlines about rising inflation, concerns about technology companies censoring conservatives, as well as high amounts of crossings along the US-Mexico border.
Conservatives popularised the term after NBC Sports reporter Kelli Stavast interviewed driver Brandon Brown after his victory while the audience chanted “f*** Joe Biden”. Ms Stavast then said that people were saying “Let’s Go Brandon”, which many conservatives thought was an attempt to censor them.
The term has since become a meme and a way to show their displeasure with the president. More recently, on Christmas Eve, Jared Schmeck, a man from Oregon, used his child’s call with Mr Biden during Norad Santa Tracker to tell the president “Let’s Go Brandon”.
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“This is so much bigger than Brandon,” the text in the ad said.
Mr McCormick is running for the Republican nomination for Senate in Pennsylvania. Former president Donald Trump had endorsed Sean Parnell but Mr Parnell ended his campaign after allegations that he abused his estranged wife and children were revealed during proceedings for his divorce.
Mr McCormick, who married former Trump administration deputy national security advisor Dina Powell in 2019, is one of a handful of candidates on the Republican side hoping to replace retiring incumbent Sen Pat Toomey. Mr Toomey had voted to convict Mr Trump for his role in the January 6 Capitol insurrection.
Television host and physician Mehmet Oz is also running in the primary, which is on 17 May 2022. The Cook Political Report has rated the race a toss-up.