Ben Jealous is demanding TV stations stop airing this commercial by his GOP opponent

Former NAACP president and current Maryland gubernatorial candidate Ben Jealous is demanding that television stations stop airing a commercial from his political opponent.

"Evidence to the controversy"

An attorney representing the Ben Jealous campaign sent a letter to four television stations telling them to pull down a political ad from incumbent Governor Larry Hogan.

"The Republican Governor's Association in this advertisement uses selective editing techniques to make the false claim that Mr. Jealous is a socialist, despite clear and repeated evidence to the controversy," wrote James Temple Jr., which likely meant to say "evidence to the contrary."

"The advertisement deceptively edits an interview Mr. Jealous gave MSNBC on June 27, 2018 to include only the words 'go ahead, call me a socialist.' However, Mr. Jealous' full quote makes it abundantly clear that he is no such thing," the letter explained, "as Mr. Jealous actually said, 'go ahead call me a socialist. It doesn't change the fact that I'm a a venture capitalist.'"

"Additionally, at another point in this same interview, Mr. Jealous unequivocally states that he is a venture capitalist," he adds.

“The TV stations we believe have a responsibility both legally and ethically to stop this kind of false advertising,” said Temple Jr. to WJZ-TV in an interview about the demand.

Political analyst Dr. Mileah Kromer of Goucher College told WJZ-TV that the kind of editing employed by the RGA was pretty standard practice in political campaigns.

“Once it’s in the public domain it can wind up in a political ad,” Kromer said.

Jealous has also been criticized for a foul-mouthed outburst he had at a reporter who asked him to comment on the accusation from his political opponent that he was a socialist.

"Are you f***ing kidding me?!” exclaimed Jealous at the surprised reporter.

Here's a news report with the controversial ad:

WJZ said in their report on Jealous' demands that they will continue running the political ad.

Hogan has a 14 point advantage in the Real Clear Politics average of polling for this election.