Oct 30, 2008 6:53 pm US/Central
Barkley Shoves His Way Into Minn. Senate Ad War
ST. PAUL (AP) ―
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His first and probably only ad hit the air on Thursday, less than a week before voters go to the polls and many months after two better-funded rivals began running commercials. (File)
Dean Barkley
Independence Party Senate candidate Dean Barkley is pushing his way into the race's pricey ad wars with a commercial depicting him as the typical Minnesotan.
His first and probably only ad hit the air on Thursday, less than a week before voters go to the polls and many months after two better-funded rivals began running commercials.
Barkley considerably trails Republican incumbent Norm Coleman and Democratic challenger Al Franken, but hopes to slingshot past both in the final week.
He said he's pouring his remaining campaign money -- and whatever new contributions come in -- into commercial time. To date, he said he's raised about $150,000 for his third-party bid.
The ad features him talking between cardboard cutouts of Franken and Coleman atop pedestals. At the end, he shoves both over as he declares the need "to take our country back."
"When did our politicians become larger than life?" Barkley asks in the ad. "When did they become so much more important than the people the represent."
Along the way, Barkley says he's like average voters, struggling with his mortgage payments and watching his retirement savings dwindle.
Coleman and Franken have spent millions each on ads, and their parties have kicked in millions more.
Barkley's campaign said the ad will air on Twin Cities network stations and cable in other parts of Minnesota. Except for local news programs, his advisers declined to identify the shows in which it will air, which speaks to the voter audience they are trying to attract.
The ad was produced by Minneapolis marketer Bill Hillsman, who was behind quirky commercials Jesse Ventura ran in his 1998 upset win. Hillsman said the Barkley ad, striking a more serious tone than the Ventura spots, fits with the times.
"I don't think the voters think we're in a very funny time," he said.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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