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Kasich Releases His First Re-Election Campaign Ad

Though there's never been an official kickoff of Governor John Kasich's re-election campaign, it has launched its the first TV ad. Ohio Public Radio’s Karen Kasler has more.

“He grew up in a hardworking steel town on the Ohio River. It was here John Kasich’s father carried the mail on his back, six days a week…”

The ad features bluish-tinted images to indicate Kasich’s early years in Pennsylvania, and then sharpens to vividly colored scenes of his recent history – at Ohio State University, in Congress, and at the church where he got married, along with photos of Kasich and his family members at various ages.  A spokesperson for Kasich’s campaign says in a statement about the ad that the values instilled in Kasich as a young boy continue to guide him today as governor. The ad was released a day early on Gov. John Kasich’s campaign website. It will air for the next two weeks in major TV markets, courtesy of a reported $350,000 media buy. Paul Beck is a professor of political science at Ohio State University in Columbus, and he says he didn’t expect Kasich’s first ad to go negative.

“If he were a challenger, as he was four years ago, there’s more of an inclination in a first ad to criticize the opposition. As a governor who’s an incumbent running for re-election, I don’t think you want to do that, and he’s not done that. The other thing to think about is that there’re going to be plenty of people out there who are going to do that for him.”

Also among those who’ve seen the ad – the team of his Democratic opponent Ed FitzGerald, led by Daniel McElhatton.
“It is trying to rebrand a governor who spent the last three years fighting a war against working families and offering policy prescriptions that did nothing to help everyday Ohioans better their lives.”

Like the Kasich campaign team, McElhatton also won’t confirm details of his candidate’s ad strategy, including when FitzGerald’s first TV ad will air – but he does say the coming ads will define FitzGerald and attack Kasich’s record, and he describes them as “aggressive”. Kasich has $7.9 million in the bank – FitzGerald has $1.4 million, and this is expected to be one of the most expensive governor’s races in Ohio history.

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