Leckey Launches $300K TV Ad In Crowded 4th Congressional Race

BROOKLINE, MA — It's a packed race for Massachusetts' 4th congressional district, with the nine Democratic candidates in the race, including four other women vying for ways to stand out. It's a task made more difficult by the pandemic when shaking hands and kissing babies is not an option ahead of the primary in September.

Candidates are pulling out all the stops: Jesse Mermell recently released her tax returns and called on other candidates to do the same. Dr. Natalia Linos came out with her COVID-19 recovery plan. Alan Khazei released his plan to fix democracy.

Ihssane Leckey’s campaign for Congress launched a six-figure television ad campaign Friday. She's the second candidate to venture into TV advertisement territory after Newton City Councilor Jake Auchincloss booked nearly $30,000 in television spots. Khazei's team has said he's booked advertisements on TV, too.

All three plan to run through the month of July.

Leckey's advertisement dubbed “The New Face of Congress” introduces her as the only woman of color in the race. Leckey is one of six Brookline residents running for the seat the former Brookline resident Joe Kennedy leaves as he makes a bid for Sen. Ed Markey's seat in the U.S. Senate.

"People are demanding change to a system run by rich white men for too long," she says as the image of President Donald Trump shaking hands with Brett Kavanaugh flashes on the screen.

"I'm Ihssane Leckey, Donald Trump’s worst nightmare: a fearless woman of color ready to end corporate greed," she says.

Leckey immigrated from Morrocco in 2005 at the age of 20, worked sub-minimum wage jobs to put herself through community college and eventually earned a scholarship to Boston University. She went on to work as a Wall Street regulator at the Federal Reserve after the 2008 financial crisis, where she worked to hold the financial institutions in America accountable.

The campaign previously announced it had more than $700,000 cash on hand.

The Fourth Congressional District includes parts of Bristol, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth and Worcester counties. Before Kennedy was elected in 2012, Barney Frank held the seat from 1981 until Kennedy took over.

Several candidates, including Tom Shack, of Brookline, Nick Matthew, of Somerville, Herb Robinson, of Newton have stepped out of the race.

The list of Democratic candidates left:

• Jake Auchincloss, of Newton
• Dave Cavell, of Brookline
• Becky Grossman, of Newton
• Alan Khazei, of Brookline
• Ihssane Leckey, of Brookline
• Natalia Linos, of Brookline
• Jesse Mermell, of Brookline
• Ben Sigel, of Brookline
• Chris Zannetos, of Wellesley

The Republican candidate is Julie Hall, of Attleboro.

Read more about her: Ihssane Leckey Of Brookline Runs For Congress

• Candidate For Congress: Brookline's Alan Khazei
• Joe Kennedy Announces Run For Senate
• Newton City Councilor Jake Auchincloss Announces
• Newton's Grossman Declares Run For Kennedy House Seat(Sept.24)
• Candidate For Congress Jesse Mermell: Civic Engagement Runs Deep (October)
• Dave Cavell, Another Brookline Resident Runs For Congress (Oct.19)
• Money Race: Who Leads the Way In Donations(Jan. 2020)

Leckey's YouTube ad:

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).