Harper, Fletcher Release Final Ads

From the Lexington Herald-Leader:

Billy Harper's campaign for governor has a new TV ad that lampoons his opponents for "squabbling," and says he is the only Republican who can defeat the Democrats in November's general election. Harper, a Paducah businessman, showed the ad to reporters today on his campaign bus. "When we started our campaign, we promised you we would run a positive campaign, and we have kept that promise," Harper said.

But Harper said his opponents in the May 22 GOP primary election -- Gov. Ernie Fletcher and former U.S. Rep. Anne Northup -- "have not kept the same standards and it has gotten a little negative in their behavior."

Harper's 30-second ad titled "Did Not" is to run statewide through Monday. It shows a young boy with glasses and a young girl with pigtails arguing by shouting at each other, saying, "Did not" and "Did, too."

It encourages voters to take a look at Harper and describes him as "a conservative businessman, a leader in education reform" and the only candidate to promise no new taxes.

It adds that he is the only Republican who can unite the party and defeat the Democrats.
Harper said he does not plan to run any other new ads unless he is personally attacked. He also declined to say if he has put more of his own money into the race or say how much of his own money he has contributed to his campaign. Though polls show Harper trailing Fletcher and Northup in the race, he said he will not drop out. In fact, he said, he has "a great chance" of winning the race. "I don't feel I'm a spoiler in any way," he said.

Harper also said he does not yet know if he will support whoever is the Republican nominee for governor and did not know if he will attend an event May 26 at the state GOP headquarters in Frankfort at the invitation of Kentucky's GOP congressional delegation to rally behind the party nominee. "I'm scheduled to be out of the country that Saturday," he said.

Fletcher's campaign manager, Marty Ryall, said he disagrees with Harper's assertion that he is the only candidate who can unite Republicans in the fall. "We're confident that Republicans will unite around Gov. Fletcher after Tuesday," Ryall said.

He said Harper's ad takes a predictable approach. "He still has a lot of ground to make up and we're comfortable with where we're at," he said.

Fletcher also released his final TV ad of the campaign, an upbeat 30-second spot that features a direct appeal to voters from Fletcher.