Hutchison Throws Long Bomb During BCS Game
By Reid Wilson
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) will air out a long pass on Thursday when she drops more than $100K on a single ad during what will likely be one of the most-watched events in TX this year.
Hutchison will spend the money on a 30-second spot when Texas meets Alabama for the College Football national championship. It will cost far more than an average TV spot -- in fact, in some districts, the amount Hutchison will spend on the single hit would be enough to run ads for a week.
The ad will run during pregame festivities in Austin and during the first half in Houston, San Antonio and Dallas-Ft. Worth, the Dallas Morning News reports.
Hutchison's campaign would not discuss what the ad will say, but it's not likely to be any ad the campaign has released so far. Campaign manager Terry Sullivan told the paper's Wayne Slater the spot would be a "game-changer."
The game, for Hutchison, needs some changing. Public polls have been few and far between in TX, but GOPers with knowledge of the race say Gov. Rick Perry (R) is running well ahead of Hutchison, thanks to his efforts to pit the contest as Austin's way of doing business versus DC's.
Perry has run several ads reminding voters that Hutchison is a DC incumbent. Meanwhile, Hutchison has made an issue of her fight against Dem health care legislation, which some GOP strategists not affiliated with the race believe only reminds voters further that Hutchison is a Senator.
Hutchison has been slamming Perry for several of his plans that involve making some TX freeways into toll roads, a theme her latest ad, released this morning, continues.
And running the new spot during the UT game is a smart idea. At least she will be able to remind some extremely partisan (football partisan, that is) voters that she was a UT cheerleader, while Perry led cheers for Texas A&M. Check out the DMN's Trail Blazers blog for 2 fantastic shots of Hutchison and Perry during their collegiate days.