Republican U.S. Senate candidate John James is up with his first television ad of the cycle, telling voters "Michigan deserves better" than the status quo.

The ad includes reference to several issues facing Michigan residents, including neighborhood blight, veterans issues, school quality and health care costs.

James says both parties are to blame: "They pit Americans against each other, then they blame the other side when nothing gets done."

"I'm tired of their B.S.," he says in the ad.

The initial buy is more than half a million dollars and will run on television in all major media markets statewide as well as online, according to the James campaign.

James, a veteran and businessman who lives in Farmington Hills, is running against incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow. Stabenow was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000.

Stabenow's latest television ad focused on her support among the agricultural community, and her campaign has also run television ads featuring Stabenow's work funding investments to the Great Lakes and support for the cost of prescription drugs.

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