If you were to judge the status of the CD-6 Republican primary by what's recently been aired on television, you'd think that race was heating up, with absentee mail ballots being delivered as we speak.
It's not, Secretary of State Mike Coffman has that race in the bag. However, it's still fun to watch the ads from both the Coffman and Armstrong camps.
As ads go, they come worse than this one. Jared Polis could learn from the quality of Coffman's voice talent, and the background music, while cheesey, isn't distracting. The overview of Coffman's military service will play well to primary voters, though it may be of note that Steve Ward also served in Afghanistan and Iraq. The biggest downside would be the rather strange fake speech, accompanied with stock applause, of Coffman in front of the American flag graphic. Ad Grade: A-
"Career Businessman" Armstrong for Congress
There's nothing exceptional about this ad. A few simple transitions which any owner of Final Cut could insert, accompanied with some very light, optimistic (rather than patriotic) background music. The big plus to Armstrong's ad is that he's providing the voiceover. It's a risky move, but Armstrong more or less makes it work. Once again, the candidate slams so-called "career politicians," which hasn't seemed to resonate with CD-6 Republicans to date. Wil, son of Senator Bill Armstrong, likes to use that snazzy "career politicians" line, while trumpeting endorsements from the likes of Marilyn Musgrave, Scott McInnis, Bill Owens, and John Suthers, all of whom have spent a career working in politics. The "high gas" prices theme is important to touch upon, but it doesn't help define Armstrong as a candidate or improve his name ID any, and in a race against Coffman, campaigning on specific issues won't be helpful. Ad Grade: C+
Based on these two ads, I'd be more compelled to cast my vote for Coffman. His ad is a lot cleaner, and more effectively outlines his record. Both are rhetoric rich, and were it not for the poor editing of Armstrong's piece, they'd probably be equally as effective. Fortunately, I don't live in CD-6, and I'm not a Republican, so I won't have to make that decision.
