• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, Yesterday

A commercial dubbed the worst in the New Jersey primary for its fake, AI-generated images may have doomed a gubernatorial candidate’s campaign.

U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, 50, a Democrat representing Jersey’s 5th district, was one of the more visible of six hopefuls vying to be the state’s Democratic nominee for governor this November.

In the democratic primary held on Tuesday, Gottheimer came in fourth, even though he far outspent the winner -- Rep. Mikie Sherrill, 53, from the state’s 11th congressional district -- on TV.

Part of the spending went to a commercial that raised negative eyebrows and a raft of criticism when it premiered in late April.

The spot featured images and video of Gottheimer that were clearly manufactured by artificial intelligence.

These included an image of Gottheimer’s adult face on the body of a muscular little boy with boxing gloves, and the image above that showed Gottheimer in a boxing match with President Trump.

Both of those images are obviously AI-generated. Another image in which Gottheimer is standing happily between Bill Clinton and Barack Obama also seemed to many observers to be another image created by AI. The commercial carried disclaimers that were easy to miss.

The problem with the spot was that many who saw it reacted negatively from the get-go. People today are savvy about AI fakery, and this use of the technology was seen as obnoxious.

And, it should go without saying, but blatant fakery is not a good look for a political campaign.

Criticism and ridicule broke out within hours of the spot’s premiere on April 28. “So cringeworthy, it’s funny. The worst political ad in the New Jersey primary,” read a headline on the website of New Jersey’s most influential radio station, Trenton-based 101.5 FM, on April 29.

In the spot, “Gottheimer, who is 50 years-old, is having an ass-kicking fantasy against a 78-year-old man,” wrote Jeff Deminski on the site.

“Also, why does Josh get to be in trunks and Donald is stuck trying to fight wearing a suit? How is this a fair fight?” he questioned. “Plus, there’s the cut physique. Is this what Gottheimer looks like? Or has he been watching too many Mark Wahlberg movies?”

Reactions like this one could be found all over the place. “I have never felt so much horror at the sight of a child since the Grady sisters in ‘The Shining’,” wrote Heeseo Yoon on TheTenaflyEcho.com of the child-boxer photo.

“Josh Gottheimer will never forget the first time he stepped into the boxing ring against Donald Trump,” read the sarcastic lead sentence of a story on TheNewJerseyGlobe.com.

“The crowd was roaring, the cameras were flashing, and his toned muscles were rippling; everyone was waiting for him to land the knockout blow against the president and deliver results for New Jersey’s working families.”

The message in the spot was that Gottheimer has been a fighter all his life and that if elected, he would bring that fight to Trump.

In fact, this was a theme common to the commercials that flooded the airwaves in New York, where the TV Blog is headquartered.

“I’ll fight Trump and Musk!” was a recurring message in just about all the spots from the candidates.

The strategy was almost as irritating and questionable as Gottheimer’s AI boxing match. Fight them how, and for what reason? I asked myself every time I saw one of these.

The same question occurred to me that has always occurs to me during election-commercial seasons: When will candidates craft a message of substance that will really affect their constituencies?

I would love to hear someone say just once: “Elect me and I’ll fix your streets, collect your trash, maintain school buildings and support the police.”

Fighting Trump and Musk? What is that supposed to mean?