John Kasich launched his first television ad of the campaign season Sunday.
With a hard folk rock background, a narrator describes Kasich’s early challenges: “He lived a hardscrabble life in a rusty steel town. … When he lost his parents to a drunk driver, he had the faith to carry on.”
The spot, entitled, “America: Never Give Up,” will air in New Hampshire and on Boston stations that reach the Granite State.
The ad buy represents a contrast in strategy with Kasich’s establishment rival Jeb Bush, who has pullled ads in some states, and openly questioned the effectiveness of on air advertising “Fox News Sunday.”
“Advertising in this world doesn’t work to the same extent it probably did in the past,” Bush said.
Advertising has long been a considered linchpin of successful political campaigns, but the success of Donald Trump, who has sparsely advertised, while earning lots of free airtime via media coverage, has undermined the traditional approach.
Still, Kasich’s team is banking that his advertising makes a dent.
“Some campaigns are pulling ads, while we’re buying time,” Kasich spokesman Chris Schrimpf told ABC.
He didn’t say how much Kasich is spending, beyond calling it a “substantial buy.”
Kasich’s ad is most biographical in nature, introducing Americans in the final push before early state primary voting to the Ohio governor with a lower profile and less name recognition than rivals. Kasich has not broken out of the single digits in national polls, or in any state that’s not Ohio or New Hampshire, despite always being on the main stage at Republican debates.
Kasich nonetheless retains some support among more more moderate and establishment Republicans. Many political pros consider Kasich a candidate who could be a potent electoral force on the Republican ticket by helping to carry the very important swing state of Ohio, where Kasich was twice elected statewide and remains popular.
Many Republicans hope the establishment candidate who fares best in New Hampshire can unite GOP voters wary of Trump or Ted Cruz.
