The Hill News

Michigan Democrats are saying the controversy surrounding Republican Senate hopeful Pete Hoekstra's Super Bowl ad â€" in which an Asian woman biking in front of rice paddies speaks in broken English â€" forced his campaign to pull the spot Thursday. But Hoekstra's campaign denies the claim, saying it was simply rotating in a new commercial â€" despite taking down a website that accompanied the initial ad.

"Hoekstra is replacing this ad because he knows it is indefensible and untrue," said Mark Brewer, chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party, in a statement.

Hokestra spokesman Paul Ciaramitaro told The Hill that "both ads are still running" and that the new "spot is being added in rotation" alongside the other commercial. But a website â€" debbiespenditnow.com â€" run by the Hoekstra campaign that further mocked opponent Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) ! as "Debbie Spend-it-now" and relied on Chinese imagery had been removed, with the domain name now linking back to Hoekstra's own homepage.

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