Next Tuesday, Iowans in Senate district 13 (Warren and Madison counties) will elect either Republican Julian Garrett or Democrat Mark Davitt as successor to the disgraced Kent Sorenson. Last night I saw a television commercial promoting Garrett several times on CNN. I don’t know whether the spot is running on broadcast networks as well. UPDATE: Bleeding Heartland user rockm points out in the comments that the ad is running on Des Moines area broadcast networks.
I wasn’t able to find it on YouTube, but I got it on tape, and I’ve posted my annotated transcript after the jump. You can see one still shot from the ad on Garrett’s Facebook page.
Garrett isn’t hiding his party affiliation in this Republican-leaning district; his red and white campaign logo includes an elephant. But in an apparent effort to distance himself from Washington-style politics, this commercial portrays Garrett as a pragmatist interested in “fixing problems,” not “fixing the blame.” It also emphasizes his “life on the farm,” not mentioning his long career as an attorney.
Garrett’s tv ad contains no professional voice-over. The candidate speaks the whole script, with pleasant bluegrass-style acoustic music in the background.
As the viewer sees footage of Garrett on his farm, wearing work clothes and doing chores, the candidate’s voice can be heard: Out here there’s no time for excuses. If something goes wrong, you fix it. It doesn’t matter whose fault it is, you just have to get the job done.
View shifts to Garrett, standing in front of a fence and speaking to the camera: Hi, I’m Julian Garrett, candidate for state Senate.
More footage of Garrett on the farm or talking with various people: I’ve spent my life on the farm. I learned early that fixing problems is more important than fixing the blame. Apparently the politicians in Washington never learned that lesson.
Garrett speaks to the camera again: In the state Senate, I’ll work for common-sense solutions to grow our economy and protect our budget surplus. [words appear at bottom of screen: COMMONSENSE SOLUTIONS]
Close-up view of Garrett’s face: I’m Julian Garrett, and I’m asking for your vote on November 19. [Garrett’s campaign logo can be seen on the right side of the screen.]
7 Comments
Misquote
I believe he says “Warshington” instead of Washington in his ad!
dsmpolitico Fri 15 Nov 11:22 AM
Davitt
Haven’t heard anything from Mark Davitt. Is he up on TV or radio anywhere? Assume he’s door knocking etc. Uphill climb for him in that district. Assuming Julian Garrett wins, wonder who will contest his House District. That’s the Madison County side of the district…is that like the Waukee side of West Des Moines? Red country. Is Earlham in that District? How about Dusky Terry?
rockm Fri 15 Nov 12:02 PM
it would probably not be worth the money
for Davitt to put up tv ads. Only a tiny portion of the Des Moines area population lives in SD-13, and turnout will be low for this election. I hope he’s doorknocking and doing direct mail to high-propensity Democratic voters.
Earlham’s not in Garrett’s current district. Here’s a map (pdf).
desmoinesdem Fri 15 Nov 4:16 PM
Earlham
Looks like Earlham is IN the District. Very north side
rockm Fri 15 Nov 5:33 PM
I stand corrected
I thought it was in Dallas County.
desmoinesdem Fri 15 Nov 8:39 PM
Garrett on TV
His spots are running on broadcast TV in addition to cable.
rockm Fri 15 Nov 6:14 PM
Hat
Notice the cap? International Harvester hasn’t been a brand since the mid-80’s. & yes, the Davitt campaign has been working people-to-people, door-knocking and calls. There ought to be a positive turnout for him.
hvlundberg7328 Sun 17 Nov 8:27 AM