Tensions are rising among Santa Barbara County Democrats over a politically charged advertisement created using artificial intelligence, which targets a Latino candidate vying for a seat on the county board of supervisors.
The advertisement, sent out by the county’s Republican Party to local voters, portrays Ricardo Valencia, a candidate endorsed by the Democrats, as a clown wandering through Santa Maria. The backdrop includes scenes of chaos, such as fires, homeless camps, and criminal activity.
A report from the Santa Barbara News-Press highlights that the ad features a voiceover with a “stereotypical Latino accent,” accusing Valencia of neglecting crucial issues that impact the community.
Images captured from the ad reveal one instance where Valencia appears with clown makeup and a red nose, holding a phone as if taking a video selfie.
The AI-rendered version of the candidate is shown wearing a rumpled dress shirt and tie, with a nearby scene depicting a purse snatching incident occurring near a Shell gas station.
In a subsequent scene, Valencia is dressed in an even more exaggerated clown outfit, complete with curly red hair and a vibrant clown suit, set against a backdrop of a queue of homeless individuals seemingly waiting for food.
Democrats bristled at the ad, accusing it of being “racist” and “deceptive.” State lawmakers representing the area, including California Senate President Monique Limon, condemned it.
“There is no place in our community for the use of racist caricatures, disinformation, or deceptive AI-generated content designed to inflame division and demean candidates based on their background or identity,” Limon and two other lawmakers said in a joint statement.
“Campaign and political parties should debate ideas, proposals and qualifications — not resort to hateful and misleading attacks that seek to divide neighbors against one another,” they added.
Local-level politicians also piled on. County supervisor Laura Capps said the attack ad “is both vile and unacceptable.” Santa Maria Councilwoman Gloria Soto said “this is not a campaign tactic, it is a racist caricature, and it is disgraceful.”
Bobbi McGinnis, chair of the county Republican Party, told the News-Press that the organization is not racist and was simply experimenting with AI content.
Valencia is currently facing off in the June 2 primary against Cory Bantilan, the chief of staff for current supervisor Steve Lavagnino, and Santa Maria City Councilmember Maribel Aguilera, whom Soto claims is being backed by the county GOP.
Valencia has been a high school teacher and serves on the Santa Maria-Bonita School Board.
In an Instagram story Sunday, he thanked Limon and others for their support and said the ad was “racist and dehumanizing.”
