Congressional air war is already heating up

Voters all over the country have begun to see more and more campaign ads in recent weeks, but they haven’t all been about presidential politics.

Congressional campaign advertising took off in January, with dozens of candidates already on television due to the unprecedented earliness of the primaries, several special elections and the political interest spurred by both sides’ drawn-out and competitive presidential nomination process.

{mosads}Early advertising is most often used to introduce candidates to the public. It is generally cheaper and more accessible the earlier it is, but it also risks being forgotten quickly because people are not yet paying attention.

Political advertising expert Ken Goldstein said the early timing of the first ads represents a significant departure from cycles past.

“It might not be relevant in the decision-making when voters go into the ballot box,” Goldstein said. “But what these ads are trying to do is change the dynamic now, early on, and get some free media.

“Things have been getting earlier and earlier in the presidential race, but that is way earlier for congressional races.”

Many are aimed at simply introducing the candidates early enough so that they are taken seriously in the months ahead. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the ads are serious.

Colorado congressional candidate Jared Polis and Oregon Senate candidate Steve Novick are out front on that account, launching quirky ads to help them overcome tough primaries.

Polis, a businessman who is one of three Democrats raising big money to run for Senate candidate Rep. Mark Udall’s (D) seat, launched an ad last week featuring the blurred-out bare backsides of people in hospital gowns.

“When it comes to healthcare, people all over Colorado are walking around with poor coverage,” states the ad, which was produced by the same Minnesota company responsible for the memorable ads of the late Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.) and former Gopher State Gov. Jesse Ventura (I).

Novick continues to play off his unusual physical traits in his ads as he takes on a Democratic opponent supported by the national party for Sen. Gordon Smith’s (R) seat.

His first ad featured three polished and statuesque actors pretending to be Novick, followed by the real thing, less than five feet tall with a hook for a left hand. This week, his campaign began running an ad in which he uses his “left hook” — he was born without a left hand — to open a companion’s beer.

Novick said he is trying to lengthen the campaign so it doesn’t become an air war in the final weeks before the May primary — a battle his better-funded opponent, state House Speaker Jeff Merkley, would likely win.

“Our feeling is that the more attention people pay to this race for as long a period of time as possible, the greater the odds of our winning,” Novick said.{mospagebreak}

Other early ads are more straightforward, including two Democrats locked in a race to oppose Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) who are both already on the air.

Attorney Mike Ciresi’s latest offering, launched last week, features testimony from Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), while comedian Al Franken mostly skips the humor and focuses on his Minnesota roots (he moved back from New York to run for Senate).

{mosads}Those ads were partially aimed at getting Minnesotans to sign up to become delegates for the candidates following the presidential caucuses Tuesday night.

“Once the calendar turned the page to 2008, people were ready for politics,” Ciresi spokeswoman Leslie Sandberg said.

A pair of Republican businessmen battling for the right to face freshman Rep. Chris Carney (D-Pa.) are also running competing ads. Chris Hackett’s ads focus on his economic conservatism, and Dan Meuser’s are a broad overview of the challenges facing the country.

Like these ads, almost all of the ads are run by candidates facing difficult primaries, including Senate candidate Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.), Texas congressional candidate Quico Canseco (R), Florida 16th district candidate Gayle Harrell (R) and Cleveland City Councilman Joe Cimperman (D), who is running against Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio).

Many of them are being run by candidates facing primaries this month or in the near future, as several states moved up their congressional primaries to coincide with their presidential contests.

But some have featured incumbents trying to ward off strong challenges.

Both Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Max Baucus (D-Mont.) have tapped their massive war chests to flex their advertising muscles early in attempts to scare off formidable would-be foes.

In both cases, it seems to have worked to some extent, although Democrats recently recruited a well-funded candidate to oppose McConnell.

Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), who is under federal investigation for his ties to Veco Corp., assures in his first ad that he knows he is not irreplaceable but can help the state with his 30-plus years of seniority.

Young’s media consultant, Art Hackney, said it was important to start getting the message out in anticipation of Tuesday’s district conventions, in which delegates to the state convention are selected.

Young faces GOP opposition from state Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux.

“Having a contested primary, it’s the congressman making it clear to everyone in the state that he’s running with fire in the belly, as he puts it,” Hackney said. “It’s the first salvo in what’s going to be a long campaign.”