Republican candidates for U.S. Senate battle over abortion, TV ads

July 06--EAST LANSING -- The two Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate exchanged heated words on abortion and campaign ads in a televised debate Friday.

The two businessmen, John James of Farmington Hills and Sandy Pensler of Grosse Pointe, each want the chance to challenge U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Lansing Democrat who is seeking a fourth term.

Abortion -- often a key issue in a Republican primary -- has become an issue in the race. Both candidates say they are anti-abortion, but Pensler acknowledges that he was an abortion rights supporter until the birth of his son about 20 years ago, when he said his view changed. Also, Pensler, 61, would make exceptions in cases of rape or incest; James, 37, would only make exceptions in cases where the life of the pregnant woman is at risk.

James opened the debate during a special taping of "Off the Record" with host Tim Skubick by hammering Pensler on the issue, saying "nobody believes" that he is no longer a supporter of abortion rights.

"We need to start understanding that this isn't just a label," James said in the East Lansing studios of WKAR-TV. "These are values that are rooted very deeply in who we are."

James, a former U.S. Army pilot, said the reason he has the endorsement of Right to Life of Michigan and Pensler does not is because "you've spoken to all of these people and no one believes you."

Pensler, an investor, business owner and economist, said the birth of his son had a profound effect on his views and that both President Donald Trump and former President Ronald Reagan are Republicans whose views on abortion changed from abortion rights supporter to anti-abortion over the years.

"I'm a pro-life conservative and have been ever since my son was born 20 years ago," Pensler said.

Pensler is attacking James on another issue, saying the only political donation James has made is to Detroit City Council member Raquel Castañeda-López, whom Pensler described as "a leftist pro-choice candidate who wants to make Detroit a sanctuary city" -- where police and other city officials would not cooperate with federal officials on routine immigration enforcement matters.

James said that Pensler put his family at risk by airing a TV ad that showed his home address when it featured an image of the campaign finance record of his $500 donation to Castañeda-López.

"These are things that I find deeply offensive," James said, adding that he is opposed to sanctuary cities.

But the Pensler campaign later denounced the accusation from James as false and released a video of the ad in question. The ad does show an image of the donation record from 2015, but it does not show an address for James.

John Yob, a Grand Rapids political consultant working on the Pensler campaign, said after the debate that James' "dishonesty reached new lows ... when he flat-out lied about his home address being in our broadcast ad as a pathetic attempt to shift attention away from his large donation to Lopez."

The James camp then hit back again, saying their candidate's home address was featured on a Pensler campaign website, if not in the TV ad itself.

Tori Sachs, the campaign manager for James, released a screenshot from a website paid for by the Pensler campaign. It showed James' home address on the site, as part of an image of the campaign donation record, beneath the streaming video of the TV ad.

"It is very clear that Sandy Pensler used John James' home address in statewide advertising," Sachs said. "Sandy Pensler will do anything to distract Michigan voters from the facts that he ... is pro-choice and would vote to confirm pro-choice judges."

Pensler said during the debate that the ad included an image of the record of the donation to show that his claim was true and he had no intent of putting James or his family at risk.

"There's a disconnect between what you've talked about and your actions," Pensler told James.

James said he runs a business in Detroit and understood he paid to attend a "nonpartisan event" a number of years ago. He had "no idea" Casteñeda-López would "go off the deep end" on immigration issues, he said after the debate.

"My opponent is holding me responsible for not being able to see into the future," he said.

On another question, both Pensler and James said they would not vote to outlaw labor unions.

They also agreed on the issue of NFL players taking a knee during the national anthem as a form of protest against police killings of unarmed black men. James and Pensler both said they support the First Amendment but don't support that particular form of protest.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4.

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