Mark Begich is the senator from Alaska currently running for re-election as a Democrat. He is also living proof that having money and tons of ads is not always a good thing for a politician. In the last few weeks, Begich's campaign ran an ad criticizing his Republican opponent Dan Sullivan for being soft on crime as Attorney General of Alaska. Specifically, Begich charged that Sullivan was responsible for a plea deal for a man who sexually assaulted a two year old girl and her elderly grandmother in a terrible attack. It seems that there was some paperwork that the judge did not get which led to the lenient sentence and Begich charged that Sullivan was responsible.
The problem for Begich began almost immediately after the ad ran. Sullivan went up with a response that pointed out that the whole mess happened before he was Attorney General. Begich looked silly, but he kept running the ad. Then the family of the victims asked the candidates to please stop running the ads; they brought back too many horrible memories. The Sullivan campaign took their ad down, but Begich still kept running the ad for two more days. So Begich was airing false ads that inflicted great pain on the victims of a horrible crime. And that is how the media in Alaska reported it.
Today, the first polling came out on this race since the ads hit the airwaves. The CBS/New York Times poll found Sullivan leading Begich by 44 to 38%. One month ago, the same poll found Begich ahead by 49 to 37%. That is a swing of 18% in the margin in the race away from Begich in just one month, a result that is extraordinary to say the least.
In this race, Begich has much more money than Sullivan. He began with much higher name recognition as well. It is true that president Obama is not popular in Alaska, but it had seemed until this latest brouhaha that Begich had overcome the Obama drag on his prospects.
Across America, there are a large number of Democrats who blame Obama for the mess they are in on election day. In Alaska, however, Begich cannot blame Obama if he loses. No, Mark Begich made this mess all by himself.
The problem for Begich began almost immediately after the ad ran. Sullivan went up with a response that pointed out that the whole mess happened before he was Attorney General. Begich looked silly, but he kept running the ad. Then the family of the victims asked the candidates to please stop running the ads; they brought back too many horrible memories. The Sullivan campaign took their ad down, but Begich still kept running the ad for two more days. So Begich was airing false ads that inflicted great pain on the victims of a horrible crime. And that is how the media in Alaska reported it.
Today, the first polling came out on this race since the ads hit the airwaves. The CBS/New York Times poll found Sullivan leading Begich by 44 to 38%. One month ago, the same poll found Begich ahead by 49 to 37%. That is a swing of 18% in the margin in the race away from Begich in just one month, a result that is extraordinary to say the least.
In this race, Begich has much more money than Sullivan. He began with much higher name recognition as well. It is true that president Obama is not popular in Alaska, but it had seemed until this latest brouhaha that Begich had overcome the Obama drag on his prospects.
Across America, there are a large number of Democrats who blame Obama for the mess they are in on election day. In Alaska, however, Begich cannot blame Obama if he loses. No, Mark Begich made this mess all by himself.
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