Congressman Mike Coffman and challenger state Sen. Morgan Carroll both released new ads this week, and they couldn’t be more different. Carroll’s ad was a bio spot on TV called “Why I’m Running.” Coffman’s was an attack ad on the radio that goes after Carroll’s conflicts of interest during her time in the state legislature and as an ambulance-chasing lawyer.
Here is what their new ads say about the race:
- Nobody has heard of Morgan Carroll. Without having seen any polling in the race, we can assume her name ID is less than stellar, hence the obligatory ad introducing herself to voters. This wouldn’t be notable except that Carroll has represented voters in Aurora (which anchors the 6th Congressional District) for 12 years, AND she served as Senate President during that time. Given that background, you would expect more people to know who she is. The fact that they don’t isn’t good.
- The opposition research file on Carroll runs deep. As Denver Post reporter Joey Bunch notes in his story on the Coffman ad, it’s a “doozy.” In its first major attack, team-Coffman is alleging an “odor of corruption” and that she used her post in the state Senate to “line her own pockets.” These are hefty attacks and not made lightly. But the litany of votes that Carroll has taken to make it easier for personal injury lawyers (like her!) to sue doctors, homebuilders, and small businesses is coming back to bite her.
- Coffman doesn’t seem terribly worried. See point #2. And not only has Coffman already been on TV with a phenomenal ad about standing up to whoever wins the presidency on behalf of his constituents, but his shot across the bow in response to Carroll’s ad is a meager (by comparison) radio spot.