Republican Cynthia Coffman released her first television ad in the state attorney general’s race Wednesday with an unfortunate mistake caught by her opponent.
As Coffman outlined her goals for the office in the 30-second spot, the typography on the screen read: “Fight those who pray on children.” (Our emphasis added.)
Democrat Don Quick’s campaign caught the mistake and blasted out a screen shot. “After reviewing the ad, I wonder if Ms. Coffman knows how to spell ‘murder,’ ‘public corruption’ or ‘sexual assault,’ since she’s never prosecuted those crimes either,” Quick said in a statement.
Coffman’s campaign caught the mistake and fixed it to “prey” later Wednesday.
The exchange comes as these down-ballot candidates fight for TV space in an increasingly crowded election season.
Quick released his campaign’s first TV ad Monday.
The 30-second spot touts his record as an “independent prosecutor” who “convicted corrupt public officials,” including those in his own party. (No mention he’s a Democrat.) It then pivots to attack Coffman for being a “career political appointee who wants to use the office to play politics.” It criticizes her for a “social agenda” that included eliminating funding for Planned Parenthood.
Coffman, however, is promoting her all-positive campaign ad. It mentions her parents (“a southern Democrat father and a feisty Republican mother”) and talks about how she wants to take on child molesters and those who abuse the elderly, as well as put a focus on domestic abuse.
“This is something that people can look at and say it’s different,” Coffman said of her TV ad, noting all the negative ones on Colorado screens this time of year.
But neither ad will get much airtime. Quick is putting $175,000 into his buy through Election Day to put it on cable and satellite in Denver and Colorado Springs. It’s a small buy in comparison to the campaigns at the top of the ticket who spend millions to make sure voters see the ad.
Coffman is putting $60,000 into her initial TV buy, airing it on network TV during morning news shows. She said she plans to put more money into the ad in the next few days. Her campaign is also airing a radio ad on the Western Slope.
