Down Ticket Races Hit The Airwaves

ELECTIONS 

By Chris Lehman

Salem, OR  May 8, 2008 4:32 p.m.

It’s finally starting to look like an election is around the corner in Oregon.  Television airwaves are filling up with political ads as the May 20 deadline to vote approaches.  And it’s not just Presidential candidates buying time.  Salem correspondent Chris Lehman reports.

Turn on your TV in Oregon, and you’ll be treated to ads from people running for Senate, Attorney General, and Secretary of State.

Secretary of State candidate Rick Metsger says TV ads are a good way to reach a lot of voters.  But it’s tough to cut through the clutter.

Rick Metsger:  “Everybody’s in desperation mode. They’re taking every dime they have and they’re throwing them on television.  It’s getting mixed up with everybody else.  It’s a time of high cost, yet diminishing returns.”

Diminishing returns, because every day that goes by, more people turn in their ballots.  But with the deadline to vote more than a week away, there’s more than a million Democrats and Republicans in Oregon who have yet to cast their ballot.  So expect to see even more ads on the tube in the days to come.

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© 2008 OPB