AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Details of new television ads from Democratic gubernatorial candidate and state Sen. Wendy Davis and her Republican opponent, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott.
TITLES: Davis’ “Time Went By”; Abbott’s “Jobs.”
LENGTH: Both are 30 seconds.
AIRING: Davis’ in “targeted urban markets” around Texas; Abbott’s statewide.
KEY IMAGES: Davis’ features headlines from news coverage of an investigation into allegations of rape and sexual abuse beginning in 2005 at the West Texas State School in Pyote. It details how a Texas Ranger alerted Abbott’s office to accusations of wrongdoing at the school, but no action was taken. “Abbott does nothing” says a voiceover amid ominous music and darkened pictures of the school and its grounds. The ad goes on to say that 11 months passed following the initial request, allowing “16 more” cases of abuse and neglect to occur.
After news of the investigation was made public, Abbott’s office eventually aided an investigation against school administrators. The school was closed in 2010. Abbott’s office has previously noted that it was legally unable to act in the matter without a request from the local district attorney — which did not come until word of an abuse investigation at the school appeared in the press.
Abbott’s spot shows the Republican rolling his wheelchair over a map of the U.S., heading from California to Texas. He says, “Every week businesses leave California to escape high taxes and strangling regulations. They come to Texas.” Abbott then stops over his home state and shares the screen with a textbox labeled “Greg Abbott jobs plan” and featuring bullet-points of “control state spending,” ”unleash oil and gas industry” and “keep taxes low.”
The ad concludes with Abbott promising to “keep Texas No. 1 for jobs.”
ANALYSIS: Davis is continuing to produce attack ads. She’s hoping to make up ground in the polls against her heavily favored opponent despite his larger stockpile of campaign cash. While Abbott’s office was technically unable to act without a referral from local investigators, he has also been criticized previously by state lawmakers in both parties, who said procedural hurdles were no excuse for inaction.
Abbott, meanwhile, has often countered in his ads by largely ignoring his opponent and highlighting his personal story and campaign promises — not unusual for a front-runner with the election looming. “Jobs,” shows Abbott is indeed willing to go negative — but only against California. That’s a favorite target of top Texas Republicans who claim their state’s fiscally conservative values, low-taxes and low regulatory climate make it far more-business friendly than the Democratically controlled Golden State. Texas has indeed created 35 percent of the nation’s new, private-sector jobs since late 2000, but also has a disproportionate number of low-wage positions and a high workplace injury rate, while leading the nation in rate of citizens without health insurance. And a judge recently again declared the school finance system unconstitutional following the Legislature’s cutting $5.4 billion to classrooms in 2011.
___
Online:
Link to Davis ad: http://bit.ly/1wwXS4y
Link to Abbott ad: http://bit.ly/1uE2brI
