New Kasich ad slamming mud-slinging opponents hits TV in New Hampshire

TOM TROY
The Blade

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is portrayed as a boy compulsively sipping water in a new television ad rolled out today by the Super PAC supporting Ohio Gov. John Kasich that aims to portray his opponents as carrying out negative campaigns while he is the true conservative of the bunch.

Entitled “Muddier,” the commercial’s portrayal of Mr. Rubio is an apparent reference to his reaching for bottled water when he gave the Republican response to President Obama’s 2013 State of the Union speech.

The ad was produced by New Day for America, Mr. Kasich’s Super PAC and is being aired statewide in New Hampshire as part of a $1 million ad buy.

“As John Kasich has risen, Rubio and Bush have gone negative. Doing whatever it takes to win is not presidential,” the narrator intones.

With Mr. Kasich now threatened to drown, not in political mud, but in the rising polling numbers of his opponents, the ad aims to capitalize on his image as the positive, forward-looking, and mature candidate in the crowd.

The newest tracking poll from the University of Massachusetts out today shows what many had predicted, that Mr. Rubio would roar into New Hampshire with momentum after his unexpectedly strong showing in the Iowa Republican caucuses on Monday.

According to the poll, New York businessman Donald Trump leads in New Hampshire among likely GOP voters with 36 percent, followed by Mr. Rubio with 15 percent, and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz with 14 percent. The poll also shows support at 8 percent for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, and 7 percent for Mr. Kasich.

The ad features four men and one boy, all of them wearing suits and all covered in mud. The narrator scolds Mr. Kasich’s opponents and then moves from the five candidates shown in black and white to color images of Mr. Kasich.

The narrator says Mr. Kasich cut Ohio taxes, turned an $8 billion deficit into a $2 billion surplus, brought jobs back from Mexico and China, and cut state spending.

The ad “highlights the positive message John Kasich has maintained throughout this campaign, a contrast to the petty attacks his rivals have resorted to on the campaign trail,” says New Day in his news release.

“John Kasich has set the bar in this campaign for focusing on constructive solutions to the problems facing Americans, rather than engaging in mudslinging,” said Connie Wehrkamp, New Day For America spokesman. “This ad exemplifies John Kasich’s consistent emphasis on working to achieve real results, an example of his true leadership.”

Read the original story at The Toledo Blade.