Milwaukee Bucks, senior vice president Alex Lasry, left and guarded George Hill walking through a Milwaukee neighborhood during an effort to recruit voters on Saturday, October 24, 2020.
Steve Megargee | AP
Alex Lasry, senior vice president of Milwaukee Bucks, has announced a 2022 run for the U.S. Senate in the swing state of Wisconsin. The seat is currently held by Republican Senator Ron Johnson.
The 33-year-old Democrat launched his campaign via YouTube. “We need a new way of thinking and a new perspective,” Lasry said. “We’ve been through three systemic shocks on the system over the last twenty years: 9/11, the Great Recession and now this pandemic. And we have not fixed things yet.”
The video included the approval of Milwaukee County CEO David Crowley, Milwaukee Joint Council President Cavalier Johnson, and other top state politicians.
Lasry, a New York resident and son of Marc Lasry, co-owner of hedge fund billionaire Bucks, is a senior vice president of the team. According to ESPN, he plans to take leave during his run-up.
Lasry has pledged to ‘invest’ in his campaign, while also promising a strong fundraising campaign to reach out to small donors, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
Outagamie County chief executive and Democrat Tom Nelson, who is also running for the seat, have publicly challenged Lasry not to use his family’s wealth to fund his campaign.
Lasry did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Johnson, one of former President Donald Trump’s strongest allies in the Senate, has not yet announced whether he intends to run for a third term. The 65-year-old voted to acquit Trump of inciting the Capitol riot on Jan. 6 in his second prosecution.
Johnson did not respond to a request for comment from CNBC.
This summer, in protest against the Kenosha, Wisc., Who shot the unarmed black man Jacob Blake, the Bucks decided not to take the floor for Game 5 in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, which the league delay postponement. Lasry was among those who supported the move.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Lasry came under fire last month for alleged favoritism after receiving the Covid vaccine. Lasry’s pregnant wife received a call from an uncle about unused, available Covid vaccines. Because she could not take the chance, she offered it to Lasry in her place.
“I was just happy,” Lasry said.