Interesting color scheme you've got going there
The above screen capture is from a recent tv ad for Tom Corbett,
vulnerable incumbent governor of Pennsylvania.
Notice anything missing?
How about watching the whole video. Notice what's missing?
Then check out the other official videos his campaign has posted up to this point.
Do you notice any glaring omissions, other than facts?
Let's compare to the candidates competing to be his opponent in the general election:
Get the picture?
In every single tv ad shown by Tom Corbett this year, never once does he ever mention that he is a Republican. Not even on his campaign's website front page.
On the other hand, all of the candidates competing for the Democratic nomination explicitly and prominently state that they are Democrats in almost all of their tv commercials.
So what does this say about the state of the Governor's race in 2014?
I will concede that I may be reading a bit too much in to what may be a minor detail. For example, most Pennsylvanians likely know by now that Corbett is a Republican, so GOP voters likely do not need that reminder. And I'm watching tv in the Philadelphia area; there could be modified commercials running in central PA.
But let's not forget that Corbett is the incumbent, which normally affords the candidate a large enough advantage that it can often trump political affiliation. Hiding may be too strong a word, but the fact that Corbett's campaign would rather not remind voters that he's a Republican is an interesting choice.
Meanwhile, all the Democratic candidates do not see reminding voters that they're Democrats as a weakness. A lot of the focus recently has been on the fact that they have started running negative ads against Tom Wolf. If anything, I see this as a particularly spirited primary, that is going to set the table for a general election that is quite favorable to Democrats. Like any other Democrat, I don't like to see the candidates attacking fellow Democrats. But they're in it to win after all; if they want to be seen as the strongest candidate, they need to show it, and likewise Wolf needs to show he can tough out the attacks. That's politics.
But let's not ignore the liberal bent of each and every ad. None of these candidates are trying to stake their claim to the moderate or centrist title. And we should see this pay off in the general election.
The lament of any base voter is to see their candidate move to the Center following a primary where they characterized themselves as more ideologically pure. But in a primary season where 90% of the ads are sending a Democratic message, they set the agenda for the ads and debates that come during the General election season. The Center suddenly looks far less appealing come September and October.
So I always leave it to you all to come to your own conclusions; but the way I see recent ads going, tells me that a strong Democratic platform will be the best vehicle to victory in PA in November. And if Corbett's camp can't even admit to their own political party affiliation, it speaks volumes about their chances as well.
Perhaps other states should take notice.