“I know a great way for him to get lots of publicity for very little”
Huh? He’s already done so.
Publicity is relative. While local publicity is good for a local politician, publicity like this would likely go national, which in local politics is like publicity on steroids.
It can be tricky, and needs a little stage management so that it’s not hijacked by agitators, but if you can pull it off, it can almost guarantee and election win.