Khanna promises no lobbyist money in first ad

Democrat Ro Khanna is using his first ad in his primary challenge to Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.) to tout a populist message, saying he’ll “never take money from corporations or lobbyists” if he wins his race.

{mosads}Khanna, whose campaign has been funded heavily by wealthy Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, seeks to strike an everyman tone with the ad.

“Isn’t it time that Congress started living like the rest of us? I’m Ro Khanna and I’m committed to changing business as usual in Washington,” he says in the ad. “So here’s my promise to you: I will never take money from corporations or lobbyists. And I’ll say no to the special perks in Congress: no pay raises, no fancy trips funded by special interests, and no gold plated pensions. I approve this message because the powerful have plenty of voices in Washington — it’s time you did too.”

He is vying to make a runoff with Honda in the state’s June all-party primary. The district is heavily Democratic but a Republican is running as well, and he’ll need to squeeze by her before he can have a one-on-one race against Honda.

Khanna has also been demanding that Honda debate him. The longtime congressman has been avoiding it. After his campaign ruled out participating in the only scheduled pre-primary debate, the incumbent was called out by the San Francisco Chronicle, one of the debate’s sponsors.