First ads in Indiana governor's race hit the air
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Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Brace yourselves, Hoosiers. Campaign ad season has begun.
The big picture: Election Day is less than two months away and ads are starting to flood the airwaves, radio stations and streaming platforms.
- Nationally, spending this election cycle is expected to hit new highs.
Driving the news: Indiana's gubernatorial candidates, Republican Sen. Mike Braun and Democrat Jennifer McCormick, launched their first TV ads of the general election on Thursday.
- Braun's campaign said it spent $500,000 on a 10-day run of his new ad "Working Hard."
- McCormick's two ads — "What's Right" and "Places Like This" — will run through the election on what the state party said is a "six-figure" ad buy.
Zoom in: Braun's ad focuses on his business background, and pledges to "lead the charge" on lowering the price of gas, groceries and health care, though the 30-second spot doesn't give specifics on how he could do those things from the governor's office.
- The ad doesn't mention McCormick or Libertarian candidate Donald Rainwater.
- Braun made his fortune building his father's manufacturing business into a leader in auto parts distribution, based in Braun's hometown of Jasper.
In "What's Right," McCormick positions her party switch — from Republican state superintendent of public instruction in 2016 to Democratic candidate for governor — as a principled stand for her positions, even as party politics shifted around her.
- She pledges to repeal Indiana's near-total abortion ban and lower taxes — two things that would require backing from the Statehouse, where Republicans are expected to retain a supermajority.
- In "Places Like This," she highlights her rural roots, standing on a farm and advocating for small town Indiana — places she says "are being left behind by politicians like Mike Braun."
The intrigue: The candidates seem to borrow talking points from their rival parties.
- Democrats have led the charge in recent years to pause the state's gas tax, while Republicans are leading a commission looking to lower state taxes.
The bottom line: The gubernatorial race is just one of many that will be fighting for airtime over the next two months.