The Hill’s Twitter Room: Dem Lawmaker Sponsoring NASCAR racer
Rep. Kendrick Meek's (D-Fla.) Senate campaign announced Tuesday it will sponsor a NASCAR driver at a Nationwide Series race this month.
Meek's campaign will be the lead sponsor of Mike Wallace's car in the race known as stock car racing's famed Daytona International Speedway.
The congressman tweeted:
I will be the lead sponsor of Mike Wallace's #01 race car at the NASCAR Nationwide Series Race on 2/13 http://ow.ly/137r2
Meek is the front-runner for the Democratic nomination and said that the racing industry plays a large part of Florida's economic recovery.
"NASCAR has deep roots in Florida, and the NASCAR family is hurting right now, as are Florida families," he said in a statement. "I'm running for the Senate to get Florida's economy working again for the NASCAR Nation and all families throughout this state."
Mike Wallace (no relation to the former "60 Minutes" host) is the younger brother of retired racer Rusty Wallace, who raced on NASCAR's upper circuit, the Sprint Cup series.
Republicans didn't let Meek get away with his sponsorship without some criticism.
Ken Spain, communications director for the National Republican Congressional Commitee, tweeted a jab about the route race cars take on the track:
Steering hard left