McConnell Launches Campaign Ad One Year Before Election

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) launched his first campaign ad today, one year before he will be up for re-election.

The ads are airing on broadcast television in the Louisville and Lexington markets for at least one week. The buy costs approximately $117,000 per week. The positive spot touts McConnell’s leadership on behalf of Kentucky, and compares him to the last Kentuckian to serve as his party’s Majority Leader, Democratic Sen. Alben Barkley.

The early ad blitz suggests that McConnell is preparing for a competitive campaign looking ahead to 2008. Campaign spokesman Justin Brasell acknowledged it was rare for candidates to advertise on television this far before an election.

“It’s a signal that we’re not leaving anything to chance, and we’re not taking anything for granted,” said Brasell.

McConnell does not yet have any official Democratic opposition, though State Auditor Crit Luallen and outgoing Attorney General Greg Stumbo are considered potential challengers.

Recent public polling from the Lexington Herald-Leader shows McConnell held under 50 percent against them in head-to-head-matchups, but McConnell’s campaign has released their own numbers showing McConnell with a solid 56 percent approval rating.

Democrats were encouraged by their chances in Kentucky after Tuesday’s statewide elections. Scandal-tainted GOP Gov. Ernie Fletcher lost badly to his Democratic opponent, former lieutenant governor Steve Beshear.