Click here to watch "Fighting For New Mexico."

The Republican contest to hold onto the seat of retiring New Mexico Sen. Pete Domenici still has three weeks to go before the primary vote, but already Reps. Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce have struck a contentious note, with a rash of negative TV ads earlier this month. That tone looks unlikely to change after Wilson began airing an ad this weekend criticizing Pearce for votes to shutter a local Air Force base and cut funding to government labs such as the one at Los Alamos.

"Pearce voted four times to slash lab funding that would have cost New Mexico thousands of jobs and put America's security at risk," the ad (subscription) warns. "Heather Wilson fought for New Mexico every time." Most of the attacks traded by the two campaigns in their paid media have revolved around their respective voting records in Congress.

The ad is Wilson's second of the race. Like her first, it concludes by labeling her a "common-sense conservative" -- setting her up as a more pragmatic, centrist alternative to Pearce, whose advertising has emphasized his ideological purity, calling him the "one conservative running for Senate."

Click here to watch "Believe."

Just six days out from a closely contested Democratic Senate primary vote in Oregon, state House Speaker Jeff Merkley and attorney Steve Novick are taking different approaches with their advertising strategies. While Merkley is fighting back against negative ads from Republican incumbent Gordon Smith and going after Novick with an attack ad, Novick has pledged to stay positive for the remainder of the race.

In Merkley's first TV ad of the month, "Places" (subscription), he highlights his working-class background, claiming that "Gordon Smith and I come from two very different places." An announcer then outlines Merkley's plans to help working-class families who are feeling the pinch from a slow economy.

Merkley was also quick to respond to a negative ad (subscription) released on May 2 by Smith, firing back just two days later with "Kidding" (subscription), which accuses Smith of hypocrisy and of "falsely" attacking Merkley. "Gordon Smith. Who is he kidding?" an announcer asks. Responding to Smith's claim that Merkley violated fundraising rules, the announcer insists that "Merkley enacted the toughest ethics reforms in Oregon's history," whereas it's "Smith who's taken a quarter of a million dollars from Big Oil and voted to give them billions in special tax breaks." Seeking to counter Smith's claim that he is a candidate of change, the ad labels him "just another special-interest senator."

Continue reading "Oregon Dems Duke It Out" »

Click here to watch "Change?"

After several months of sitting back and letting Democrats Steve Novick and Jeff Merkley go after each other, Republican incumbent Gordon Smith has jumped into the fray in the Oregon Senate race, launching attacks on both of his potential Democratic challengers, but saving special censure for Merkley.

Smith made his TV debut with "Get It" (subscription), a positive ad touting his record in the Senate as an "independent." Seated in a wood-paneled office with soothing music playing in the background, Gordon tries to separate himself from the "partisan fighting, gridlock" of the nation's capital. "That's Washington’s answer to your problems, not mine. I get it," he insists. "No matter who our next president is -- him or her -- I'll find common ground for the change we need." The ad closes with the tagline, "Common ground for the common good."

This tone of niceness didn't last long, however. Just days after "Get It" went on the air, Smith released an ad attacking both Merkley and Novick. "Change? " (subscription) challenges the notion that either Democrat will be a "candidate of change." An announcer accuses Merkley of breaking fundraising rules which he helped set and cites an article from the Oregonian calling Novick the "liberal champion of government spending."

Along with attacking his would-be opponents, Smith also attempts to do something in this ad that it may be difficult to pull off -- usurp the "change" label despite having 12 years of Washington experience. Merkley and Novick represent "more of the same when it's time for a change," the announcer concludes.

Continue reading "Smith Lashes Out At Oregon Dems" »

Click here to watch "Proven. Tested. Trusted."

As his Democratic opponents continue to challenge each other for their party's nomination, this Republican candidate with years of experience in Washington has begun running general election advertising before officially receiving the nod in order to maintain a presence in the race and define his candidacy before others can.

John McCain? No, Mike Johanns, former secretary of Agriculture, former Nebraska governor and current candidate for Senate in the state's uncrowded Republican field. Both parties hold their primaries on Tuesday, and Johanns is all but assured of the nomination.

Johanns recently released his first ad of the race, a bio spot replete with images of cowboys and hay-bailing that depicts him as the embodiment of "Nebraska values." In "Proven. Tested. Trusted." (subscription), an announcer claims that Johanns "led us out of a post-9/11 recession" as governor and "changed business as usual at the Department of Agriculture."

Johanns' focus on his experience in President Bush's Cabinet -- as well as his unlikely reference to the Sept. 11 attacks -- suggests that he won't try to distance himself from the past eight years of Republican leadership. Rather, the spot heavily emphasizes experience and nostalgia in an election cycle that Johanns' Democratic opponents are both betting will hinge on change.

Continue reading "Johanns Looks Past The Primary" »

Click here to watch "Say No To Lunsford."

Businessman Greg Fischer fired the first salvo against health care executive Bruce Lunsford late last month, in what has become an increasingly tense race for the Kentucky Democratic Senate nomination.

Fischer's attack ad features actress Dale Carter Cooper making accusations about Lunsford's tenure at a nursing home business, Vencor. "He's the last person in the world I'd want in the Senate," Cooper says of Lunsford, charging that "his business practices are totally unethical." She accuses Lunsford of "evicting elderly people from nursing homes," leaving them "out in the cold" with "no place to go, no person to appeal to." The ad ends with this definitive message appearing on screen: "Say no to Bruce Lunsford."

Continue reading "Kentucky Ad Derby" »

Click here to watch "Consistent Conservative."

After both faced negative advertising from a third-party group, the two Republican members of Congress vying to replace Sen. Pete Domenici (R) have each released negative ads of their own -- against each other.

Two weeks ago, Rep. Steve Pearce released a TV ad, "Consistent Conservative," claiming the conservative mantle for himself and implying that his primary opponent, Rep. Heather Wilson, is too liberal for New Mexico. "There's only one: only one conservative in the race for Senate," the ad says, crediting Pearce for being "the only New Mexico congressman to oppose a disastrous government-run socialized-medicine scheme" (a reference to the State Children's Health Insurance program, which Wilson supported).

The attacks became more explicit a week later, when Pearce's campaign released a second ad alleging that Wilson missed important votes in order to film negative campaign commercials. "Wilson missed doing the people's work, because she put her political ambition first," an announcer claims. For good measure, the ad's tagline -- "liberal values, liberal votes" -- adds the charge of liberalism to its accusations of congressional truancy.

Continue reading "When New Mexico Reps Attack" »

Click here to watch "1884."

When the Democratic presidential primary circus comes to town, downballot candidates in most states know they can expect above-average primary turnout and a more engaged electorate. In states like Nebraska, however, which held its Democratic presidential caucuses on February 9 but doesn't have congressional primaries until May 13, there's a greater hurdle involved in getting supporters to the polls. Call it the fervor gap.

Advertising is just one method candidates can use to reach voters, but it's one that can take on an outsized importance when distances are far, voters are few and engagement is low. No surprise then that both Democrats running to replace retiring Sen. Chuck Hagel (R) have purchased ad time in order to introduce themselves to Nebraskans, particularly in Omaha and Lincoln, the state's biggest cities and home to the highest concentrations of registered Democrats.

Tony Raimondo, a businessman making his first bid for public office, launched his first two TV spots this month. The first, "Great Boss," features employees of Raimondo's manufacturing plant in Columbus telling viewers about their boss's background while praising his leadership and business skills. "Tony took over a failing company and built it into a Nebraska success story," they say in the ad. Raimondo goes it alone in his second spot, in which he argues that the war in Iraq is distracting us from domestic priorities and we need to "honorably bring our troops home."

Continue reading "Can TV Close Nebraska's Fervor Gap?" »

Click here to see "The Change."

With years of campaign experience, high name recognition and support from the party establishment, Bruce Lunsford is the favorite to win Kentucky's Democratic Senate primary next month. But in a new TV ad, Lunsford's opponent, Greg Fischer, argues that even if Lunsford were able to defeat incumbent Sen. Mitch McConnell (R) this fall, he would bring "no change at all."

Fischer has adopted the change mantle in the race, using a slogan ("Change you can trust") that's very similar to Barack Obama's ("Change we can believe in"). His new TV spot is a fast-paced piece featuring a patchwork of video clips that introduce Fischer as a public servant, not a politician.

Continue reading "Fischer Claims The Change Mantle In Kentucky" »

Click here to watch "Pull The Plug."

With just under a month to go before voters head to the polls in the Oregon Senate Democratic primary, attorney Steve Novick refuses to let up in his effort to upset state House Speaker Jeff Merkley.

Merkley has the backing of the Democratic establishment, including Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Charles Schumer, who, as Roll Call points out, has "a proven record of shepherding his preferred candidate to victory."

Hoping to capitalize on his financial advantage, Merkley has increased his TV advertising, releasing a new spot that features his wife, nurse Mary Sorteberg, praising his commitment to fix health care. Dressed in scrubs, Sorteberg describes her husband's decision to run for the Senate as "a calling." "Jeff is passionate about changing this country and fixing health care so everyday people get the care they need," she claims. She hits on the general points of Merkley's health care plan -- "tak[ing] power away from the drug and insurance lobbyists and giv[ing] it back to patients" -- while insisting that he will look to health care professionals when making policy decisions.

Continue reading "Upstart vs. Establishment In Oregon" »

Click here to watch "The Promise" and "Real World."

While Hillary Rodham Clinton and John McCain gang up to paint Barack Obama as an "elitist," Kentucky Democrats Greg Fischer and Bruce Lunsford are employing a similar tack against incumbent Sen. Mitch McConnell (R), portraying him as out of touch with his constituents in a pair of new spots.

In Fischer's first ad (subscription) of the campaign, he implicitly contrasts himself with McConnell by focusing on his own outsider status. "I really strongly believe that people are looking for somebody that's not part of the system, because the system's broken," Fischer says. He claims to have "created jobs and opportunities for thousands of people" and pledges to "fight for real change every day and restore the promise of Kentucky."

Continue reading "Dems Tag-Team McConnell" »

Click here to watch "Two Bad For New Mexico."

Regardless of which Republican candidate wins the party nomination in the New Mexico Senate primary race, the environment will be in danger, asserts a new ad from advocacy group Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund.

"Two Bad For New Mexico" (subscription) uses a common metaphor to present New Mexico Reps. Steve Pearce and Heather Wilson as two sides of the same coin on environmental issues. "Heads: Wilson took $525,000 from Big Oil and gave them billions in tax breaks," the ad claims. "Tails: Pearce took $492,000 from Big Oil and voted against fuel efficiency."

This isn't the first time the group has bought airtime (subscription) to push a green agenda, and Defenders of Wildlife President Rodger Schlickeisen told AP last week that the organization plans to invest heavily in the New Mexico race. The group's endorsement has already been locked up by Democratic candidate Tom Udall, another New Mexico congressman, who is running unchallenged for his party's nomination.

Click here to watch "Fighter."

Oregon Senate candidate Jeff Merkley (D) received an unpleasant surprise this week: A SurveyUSA poll showed he was trailing Portland lawyer Steve Novick and statistically tied with long-shot candidate Candy Neville, despite having the support of the state's Democratic establishment. The message? Novick's unconventional ads (subscription), which began running in January, seem to be making an impression with voters.

Merkley hopes his TV ad debut (subscription) will help him gain ground among Oregon Democrats. "People have not focused on this campaign yet," spokesman Matt Canter told the Portland Oregonian this week, adding that the ad campaign will introduce voters to Merkley.

Continue reading "Merkley Debuts On Oregon Airwaves" »

Click here to watch "Bottom Line" and "Cares."

Seven Kentucky Democrats are vying to take on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in November, but one in particular -- businessman Bruce Lunsford -- is already pulling away from the pack. Besides securing several weighty endorsements and enjoying a large advantage in early polling, Lunsford became the first Democrat to release TV ads, launching a new spot statewide on Friday.

Lunsford seems to be looking past his primary opponents and targeting McConnell in "Bottom Line," which combines biographical elements with a populist message: Washington is doing nothing as working-class Americans struggle to make ends meet. "Families have it tough these days," Lunsford claims. "It's discouraging to see hard-working families lose their jobs and their homes."

Taking a page from the "change" message that's been so popular at the top of his party's ticket, Lunsford asserts that "We can sit back, or we can fight. ... It’s time to change Washington." McConnell's name is not mentioned in the spot, but the implication is clear: The minority leader is part of the problem, not the solution.

Continue reading "Lunsford Targets McConnell In Bluegrass State Debut" »