Some Democratic strategists may be worried that by abandoning the debate over the Bush tax cuts on Capitol Hill, party leaders have lost an opportunity to battle Republicans out on the campaign trail over an issue that strikes at the economic concerns at the center of this election. Those Democrats would not be the ones advising Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland in his bid to win a second term.
“It doesn’t make that much difference one way or the other,” Strickland campaign manager Aaron Pickrell told me on a conference call with reporters today. I asked Pickrell if the debate over tax cuts in Washington was helping or hurting his troubled campaign. Pickrell said that in a governor’s race — even one that appears to hinge on the national issues of jobs and the economy — the hemming and hawing over tax cuts doesn’t really connect with Ohio voters.
“The national narrative really doesn’t filter into it,” Pickrell said.
Ironically, the purpose of the call was to announce a new Strickland ad that has the governor staring into the camera starkly channeling the national frustration over the economy.
“I don’t work for the Wall Street guys,” Strickland says in the ad. “I work for you.”
Watch:
According to Pickrell, the polls that have shown Strickland losing to Republican nominee John Kasich lately have also reported numbers that show how Strickland can win. Pickrell says that as voters are “educated” about Kasich’s past (read: when they watch our negative ads) his favorability goes down. Meanwhile, the more they hear about Ted Strickland’s record (read: positive “I’m one of you” spots like this new one today), the more voters build a good opinion of the governor.
“The more voters learn about Kasich the less they like him,” Pickrell said. “The more they learn about Ted the more they like him.”
The TPM Poll Average shows Kasich leading the race 49.8-40.9.
