(Above: Darius Foster appears on Fox & Friends, Sunday, June 29, 2014)
At the time when Yellowhammer posted Republican Alabama House candidate Darius Foster’s YouTube ad last week, it was roughly a month old and had received about 500 plays. In the few days since, it has jumped over 125,000 plays and continues to go viral.
On Sunday morning, Foster made his first appearance on Fox News as a guest on the cable network’s morning show, Fox & Friends.
“Not a lot of campaign ads do you actually want to watch, but this is definitely one of them,” host Tucker Carlson said of Foster’s video before asking him where the concept came from.
“About two months ago my wife and I sat down and tried to ponder our message,” Foster replied. “My goal was to make sure that all people knew that I wasn’t monolithic. So we sat down and we looked at some YouTube videos and came up with that.”
In an era when candidates and political pundits pay tens of thousands of dollars to create attention-grabbing social media videos, Foster made his ad for just $350.
“I hope you win, but if you don’t, you’ve got a career in ad-making!” The stunned host said in response.
Carlson then asked Foster to expound on his campaign platform, asking him what message he’s delivering to voters when asking for their support.
“I’ve had a lot of experiences. I grew up in the inner city. I’m middle class now. And just being a good person. I’m really focused on being a good Believer and loving people,” Foster said. “Now, on top of that, it’s jobs and education in my district. We have some failing schools and some poverty. So I’m trying to get jobs in the district. Jobs drive employment. Employment drives more tax dollars. Tax revenue helps the schools. It’s a trickle-down effect.”
Foster is one of a record number of black Republicans who decided to put their name on the ballot this year in the Yellowhammer State. Carlson asked him what he thinks Republican can do to garner more support from the black community.
“I don’t think it’s as much focusing on black people; it’s just focusing on the issues in that community and building trust,” Foster said. “If we don’t address the issues in any community they won’t vote for us. For me, I’m going to try to do it a different way and really go in and address poverty with a warm heart and not with condescension. I’m not saying all Republicans do that, but I’ve never had to defend Republican principles, I’ve had to defend Republicans.”
What do you think about Foster’s approach? Let us know in the comment section below or by tweeting @YHPolitics.
Foster’s full appearance on Fox can be viewed above, and here’s the viral campaign ad if you haven’t seen it yet:
Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims
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