State-level political ads reach airwaves
Brace yourselves, voters — and television viewers.
As campaign ads continue to flood airwaves from presidential candidates and those vying for Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate seat, another group of political hopefuls is picking up air time.
Candidates for state attorney general and auditor general will have collectively spent nearly $2 million on 3,800 television ad spots between the end of September through Election Day on Nov. 8, a Tribune-Review survey of records from 24 broadcast networks statewide found.
It's a drop in the bucket compared to the more than $77 million spent by candidates and outside groups in Pennsylvania's highly contentious U.S. Senate race, but residents are starting to see state-level ads wedged into TV commercial breaks.
Josh Shapiro, a Democrat and Montgomery County commissioner chairman, has dropped the most of any row office candidate — more than $1.2 million — on ads this fall in his race for attorney general.
More than $650,000 of Shapiro's ad buy is for 688 spots in the Pittsburgh market, records show.
His first ad tackles the heroin and prescription painkiller overdose epidemic, an issue that's emerged as a top concern in the attorney general's race and one that is front and center for lawmakers and Gov. Tom Wolf in Harrisburg.
The ad criticizes Republican state Sen. John Rafferty, Shapiro's opponent, for voting to cut funding for drug treatment. It highlights reform measures Shapiro supported when he was a state lawmaker and ends with: “Now, as chairman of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime, he's a leader in the fight against the heroin epidemic.”
More ads are planned in coming weeks, said Joe Radosevich, Shapiro's campaign manager.
Rafferty, also of Montgomery County, spent $243,000 to run 522 spots — two different ones running 15 seconds each — through last weekend. No records were available for more ad buys for his campaign through Election Day.
Rafferty also has put about 120,000 miles on his car while traveling the state to talk to voters, campaign spokesman Mike Barley said.
One of Rafferty's ads starts with a montage of ISIS footage as a voice-over says, “ISIS is a killing machine that must be destroyed.”
The ad then pivots to Rafferty promising to tackle a group he believes killed thousands in Pennsylvania — heroin dealers — and prosecute them “for what they are: Murderers.”
The other ad attacks Shapiro as a “disgraced politician” for supporting former Attorney General Kathleen Kane and former Treasurer Rob McCord, both Democrats who resigned after facing criminal charges.
Kane is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 24 after being convicted on charges she abused powers of her office by leaking secret grand jury information and lying under oath.
McCord pleaded guilty in February 2015 to federal attempted extortion charges for shaking down state contractors for campaign money during a bid for the governor's office. He has not been sentenced.
“Hail Mary smears from a desperate campaign are usually far-fetched, and Sen. Rafferty's attack is no different,” Radosevich said.
Barley defended the ad.
“Clearly our ad hit a nerve, but we're going to continue to tie our opponent and his lack of experience to the politicians he's supported and endorsed,” Barley said.
In the race for auditor general, a post that serves as the state's top fiscal watchdog, only incumbent Eugene DePasquale has bought TV time.
The York Democrat, who was elected in 2012 after serving in the state House, has spent more than $453,000 on 1,787 spots through Nov. 8. The first ads will air in late October.
“We don't ever take anything for granted,” said campaign manager Sean Murphy. “The auditor general is the kind of guy that (believes) in politics you either run like your life depends on it or you run unopposed.”
DePasquale's ads highlight his first-term record, which includes identifying more than $350 million in wasted taxpayer resources and reports that evaluated critical state programs, Murphy said. A recent report, for example, showed that 42,000 calls to the ChildLine abuse hot line went unanswered.
John Brown, the elected Northampton County executive, had not purchased TV ads and had $8,600 cash-on-hand, his most recent campaign finance report showed.
Mary Barket, Brown's campaign manager, would not discuss their strategy to introduce Brown to voters other than to say, “John has been traveling around the state pushing the word hard.”
Brown previously served as mayor of Bangor and worked for about 30 years turning around failing companies, Barket said.
As county executive, Brown found $37 million in savings for taxpayers while expanding services without cutting jobs, she said.
Records show neither candidate for state treasurer — Democrat Joe Torsella nor Republican Otto Voit — have bought any TV ads on broadcast networks.
Both ran unopposed in spring primaries.
Kari Andren is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 724-850-2856 or kandren@tribweb.com.
