DGA In Attack Mode In NM and OH
Updated, 8:35 a.m.
Democrats are wasting little time putting their 2010 blueprint for gubernatorial races into action. On Wednesday, the DGA announced that it would seek to paint Republican nominees as "extreme" and out of the mainstream of the states in which they are running.
The DGA will go up with ads in two states on Thursday, both supported by statewide saturation buys, a source tells Hotline On Call. These are some of the biggest buys the DGA has made to date.
The DGA's ads come a day after the RGA went up with an ad blitz on Wednesday. The RGA, which has a cash on hand advantage over the DGA, began airing ads in OH, WI, OK and ME -- all states where Democrats currently hold the governorships.
The ads represent the Democratic strategy of going negative early in an effort to define their Republican opponents.
The first ad is going up in NM and targets Dona Ana Co. DA Susana Martinez (R), who is running against Lt. Gov. Diane Denish (D). The ad features a testimonial from Jim Jennings, a retired police officer, and hits her for diverting taxpayer money to bonuses for her staff.
"I helped direct the anti-drug effort at the border. I worked closely with Susana Martinez. She took border protection money, stirred it to friends in her office, special bonuses for her favorite employees," Jennings said. "I'm a conservative Republican, but I won't vote for Susana Martinez, I don't trust her."
The ad is reminiscent of another DGA spot that hit on the same scandal.
The ad comes as the RGA has contributed $500K to Martinez's campaign, a sign that this will be one of the battleground gubernatorial races this year.
The second ad is in OH and seeks to paint former Rep. John Kasich (R) as closely tied to Wall Street from his time working at Lehman Brothers. The ad goes so far as to include 3 clips of Kasich saying he works on Wall Street.
Kasich is running against Gov. Ted Strickland (D) in a must-win race for Democrats this fall.
Check out the ads after the jump.
Martinez ad:
Kasich ad: