McCamley, Teague continue sparring

Democratic 2nd Congressional District candidates Bill McCamley and Harry Teague continued sparring today, and both released their newest television commercials on the Internet.

Here’s the McCamley ad that started the sparring – the ad I’ve already written about that compares Teague to President Bush:

Teague’s newest ad isn’t available in a format that can be embedded on other Web sites, but you can view it by clicking here. It’s the ad on the page titled “Solutions.”

“Bill McCamley is running a dishonest, negative campaign attacking Harry Teague. That’s wrong. Only Teague has spelled out the change we want,” the ad’s narrator states.

The ad then goes on to refer to endorsements from the governor, lieutenant governor, Albuquerque Journal and Hobbs News-Sun. It’s the second ad in which Teague calls himself the candidate of change. In the first he says there is “only one candidate for change: Harry Teague.”

In a news release, the McCamley campaign accused Teague of attempting to remake his image in the final days of the campaign. It referred to an Associated Press article from May 23 in which Teague said, “When you look at who has always represented this district forever, it’s been a middle-aged conservative businessman from the east side of the mountains.” He then adds, later in the article, “Harold Runnels, Joe Skeen and Steve Pearce. In November, it’s going to be me. That’s what the people want. That’s what they’ve wanted for the past 40 years.

“So is Teague just like ‘who has always represented this district forever’ or is he the ‘only candidate of change?’” the McCamley news release asked. “He can’t have it both ways.”

“Mr. Teague contributed the maximum amount ($2,100) to Republican incumbent Steve Pearce in the last election,” McCamley spokesman Michael Ward said. “By his own admission, Mr. Teague is the same as Pearce, Skeen and everyone who has ‘always represented this district forever,’ and now he’s trying to be the candidate of change? That is misleading. There is more change in my couch than in electing Mr. Teague.”

The McCamley campaign also took issue in its news release with Teague calling McCamley’s ad “dishonest.”

“They do not say what exactly about the ad is dishonest,” McCamley’s release states. “If the Teague campaign believes there is some specific fact that is untrue, they ought to dispute it. They haven’t, because everything in the McCamley ad is true.”

Teague, in a statement released by his office, said he has “run a positive, issue oriented campaign” and is “committed to change in Washington.”

“Changing the way Washington treats working families and changing the Washington culture that rewards games and negative attacks,” Teague said. “The voters won’t be fooled by last minutes attacks. They want someone who can go to Washington and get things done. I am the only candidate that can do that.”

Teague didn’t clarify what about McCamley’s ad is dishonest.

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