washingtonpost.com
Dean to Air Political Ads in Six States
By Ron Fournier
The Associated Press
Tuesday, August 26, 2003; 3:20 PM
In a show of political strength, Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean launched the campaign's first nationwide ad campaign Tuesday with $1 million worth of television spots in six early voting states.
The former Vermont governor -- already the first candidate to advertise in Iowa, New Hampshire and Texas -- will begin airing a new ad Friday in Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Washington state and Wisconsin.
Dean has shaken up the Democratic primary race, threatening to become its front-runner after raising $7.6 million in the second quarter, more than any other Democratic candidate, and displaying his grass-roots appeal with a four-day campaign swing crisscrossing the nation.
His latest move, a 17-day ad campaign, "shows that he has staying power and he has good strategists," said Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, a Democrat who has not sided with any candidate. "But it's too early to call a winner or loser or even a decisive front-runner in this race."
All six states hold elections following the first caucuses in Iowa Jan. 19 and the New Hampshire primary tentatively scheduled for Jan. 27. The ad campaign is big enough to ensure that the average viewer sees a Dean spot 10 times over the course of the 17-day run, campaign officials said.
Campaign manager Joe Trippi said in a telephone interview Tuesday that he expects Dean to raise $10.3 million in the quarter ending Sept. 30. Advisers said privately that may be a conservative estimate.
Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina is the only other candidate airing ads in Iowa and New Hampshire. Several others, including Dean's chief rival in New Hampshire, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, expect to begin airing ads after Labor Day.
But Dean's aggressive move this week will force the rest of the nine-candidate field to reconsider their strategy as they try to determine how to keep pace with Dean's fund-raising and organizational strengths.
Trippi announced the ad buy at the end of Dean's four-day "Sleepless Summer" tour that drew thousands of supporters, a measure of the candidate's grass-roots support.
The ads will be similar to the ones airing in Austin, Texas, in which Dean promises to "take the country back" and urges voters to log onto his Web site. Dean has been leaps and bounds ahead of his rivals in using the Internet to boost his candidacy.
The announcement comes one week after Dean backpedaled from his promise to accept taxpayer money and adhere to spending limits for his presidential campaign. Despite his surge in fund raising, a campaign adviser said the campaign has not decided whether to abandon public financing.
Dean's campaign was hastily buying ad time on Tuesday, but campaign sources said they expected the buy to be about $1 million.
AP-ES-08-26-03 1512EDT |
