Gov. Bill Richardson began airing today the follow-up to two humorous television advertisements that are likely the primary cause of his recent climb in polls in Iowa and New Hampshire.
After Richardson began airing the first two so-called “job-interview” ads several weeks ago, he climbed from below the margin of error to between 8 and 10 percent in several polls in both early primary states. The humorous ads, which poke fun at Richardson while highlighting his résumé, have become one of the hot topics of the presidential campaign.
Today, Richardson began airing the third ad in the series, a 30-second spot that begins with Richardson talking about his assertion that New Mexico is the clean energy state and has done more than any other to fight global warming.
The interviewer looks increasingly frustrated as Richardson touts his record, and finally cuts in to say, “But what I asked you was, “if you were a tree, what kind of a tree would you be?’”
Richardson shakes head at interviewer and looks disappointed.
The ad may not be quite as brilliant as the first two, but it’s still clever. Two debates and a nationally televised interview earned Richardson criticism for talking about his qualifications instead of answering the questions that were asked. Here’s his response. It’s as if he’s saying to the media, “I’m not answering your questions because they’re stupid and take the focus off the point: I’m the most qualified to be president. Period. End of story.”
Watch the new ad by clicking here.
The ad is running today on broadcast and cable channels in Iowa and will run soon in New Hampshire, the campaign said in a news release.
“We’ve gotten a tremendous response to both these ads and the governor’s record,” Campaign Manager Dave Contarino said of the previous ads. “The excitement over the interview ads is clearly helping drive the governor’s rise in the polls in both Iowa and New Hampshire.”
Almost immediately after sending out a news release announcing the new ad, the Richardson campaign sent an e-mail to supporters asking for money to help keep it on TV. In that e-mail, Contarino said the ads prove that “the governor is willing to communicate to voters and supporters in a way no one else does: directly, unvarnished and with a sense of humor.”
There’s a good chance this continued clever marketing by the Richardson campaign will help him climb again in the polls.
New poll puts Richardson at 10 percent in N.H.
Meanwhile, a new poll shows Richardson keeping his 10-percent support in New Hampshire, but not gaining, after the June 3 Democratic presidential candidate debate in that state.
The poll, conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, had Hillary Clinton at 36 percent, Barack Obama at 22 percent, John Edwards and Al Gore (who isn’t running) at 12 percent and Richardson in fifth – fourth if you don’t count Gore. No other candidate was above 4 percent.
Richardson’s support in the poll was up from 4 percent at the beginning of April, but Clinton and Obama also gained, with only Edwards losing significant ground. He was at 21 percent at the beginning of April. The new poll places Edwards squarely in the second tier with Richardson, and appears to indicate that his assault on Clinton and Obama during the debate didn’t resonate with voters.
The poll surveyed 309 likely Democratic primary voters between June 6 and 10, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 6 percent.
Those surveyed were also asked to name their second choice, and only 5 percent picked Richardson. When it combined answers to the questions about which candidate was a person’s first choice and second choice, and eliminated Gore from the results, the survey found that Richardson had the support of 11 percent. Edwards had 14 percent, Obama had 24 percent and Clinton had 39 percent.
In the poll, 4 percent said Richardson is the strongest leader among the candidates, while Clinton was named by 48 percent of those surveyed. Only 5 percent said Richardson is the most willing to take an unpopular position if he believes it’s the right one. Clinton also had the most support – at 20 percent – in response to that question.
When asked which candidate is the most believable, 10 percent said Richardson, but Obama led the candidates with 25 percent. Obama was named most likeable by 40 percent, while Richardson was named by 6 percent.
Richardson still has a long way to go. The candidate most likely to beat the Republican nominee next year, according to 37 percent of those surveyed, is Clinton, while 3 percent said that candidate is Richardson. The answer to that question will be critical when Democrats cast their votes next year.
Richardson campaigning out west
Richardson plans to let his new commercial work its magic in Iowa and New Hampshire this week while he spends time campaigning out west.
He’s in the Los Angeles area today attending fundraisers and holding a news conference. He’s scheduled to spend time campaigning in Sacramento, San Jose and San Francisco on Tuesday, and be in Las Vegas on Wednesday for an educational rally, a labor meeting and other events.
On Thursday and Friday, he’s scheduled to attend fundraisers in Minneapolis, Minn.
Gov. Bill Richardson began airing today the follow-up to two humorous television advertisements that are likely the primary cause of his recent climb in polls in