Broadcasting grainy, unflattering video of the opponent. Calling the opponent part of the “mess” in state government.
That’s been the typical campaign ad this season in Connecticut as the Aug. 10 statewide party primaries approach.
Except in one race — secretary of the state. That race was different. The two candidates in a Democratic primary — Gerry Garcia and Denise Merrill— stuck to positive portrayals of their own campaigns rather than personal attacks.
That changed Wednesday. Garcia went negative. Click on the play arrow to watch.
Merrill called the ad “very sad.”
“I guess the no-negative zone is over in this race,” Merrill said. “I was quite surprised. I didn’t think he was going to do that.”
“It’s classic old-style 30-second taking stuff out of context. This is old-style politics,”
Does that mean she’ll respond with a negative salvo against Garcia?
“No, I am not going to go negative. I think the voters are smarter than that,” Merrill responded. “I think it’s very sad. I’d rather talk about the issues.”
Garcia campaign manager Jason Bartlett defended the ad.
“I’m a state legislator myself. As a state legislator and as a leader of our caucus, there’s a certain responsibility she should take for the state of our economy,” Bartlett said. “On the stump, she is unwilling to take responsibility. She is trying to get herself promoted while pretending there is not an economic crisis in Connecticut. Why that is negative, I don’t know. We’re just pointing out facts. All we did was present the facts.”