Andrew Cuomo has a new pair of ads out in the New York gubernatorial race. And just like the polls, the ads are amazingly different. One plays up Cuomo’s accomplishments in helping a woman with breast cancer fight her insurance company — and the other is hard on the attack against surprise Republican nominee Carl Paladino.
The negative ad goes after Paladino’s business record, citing a newspaper column that called him a “welfare king.” The charge seems designed to contradict Paladino’s street cred as a Tea Party candidate.
“Who is Carl Paladino? A landlord and developer who has given politicians almost a half-million dollars and gets insider deals from Albany,” the announcer says. “Carl Paladino got a $1.4 million Empire Zone tax break to create jobs. But his official filings show only one job was created. A $1.4 million tax break for one job? Carl Paladino — a welfare king who got rich by milking New York taxpayers.”
The positive ad features a woman, Nancy Marie Bergman from Long Island, telling the story of how Cuomo, the state Attorney General, took on her insurance company when they refused to pay thousands of dollars in medical bills for her breast cancer treatment.
“He was on my side, experienced and tough. We need a governor like that, who can clean up Albany and make government work for the people,” says Bergman. “I’m a registered Republican, and I’m voting for Andrew.”
The TPM Poll Average shows Cuomo leading Paladino by 52.6%-36.6%, with the wildly varying individual polls showing a lead as wide as 33 points — or as narrow as six points.
