First candidate goes on the air in race for Snowe seat

A source close to the campaign said the ad would air statewide but would not disclose the size of the buy.

“America is drowning: spending, borrowing, regulations,” says the narrator in the ad. “As state treasurer, Bruce Poliquin closed the spigot.”

The ad continues to assert that Poliquin shrank the state’s public-pension debt, increased government transparency and exposed abuses in affordable housing.

“No wonder Bruce’s conservative reforms have made him a target of liberal Democrats,” the ad says. “But he’s earned the support of hardworking Mainers.”

{mosads}Poliquin is one of six Republicans vying for the nomination to replace retiring Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine). Four Democrats are also in the race. But the real competition for both parties’ nominees will be Independent former Gov. Angus King, whom polling shows is the early front-runner in the race.

Watch the ad: