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RALEIGH — The two leading Democratic candidates for governor are taking to the airwaves this week, hoping to boost their name recognition and bringing to Greensboro voters some of the first political ads of the campaign season.

The TV ads are starting. Will the affect the way you vote? Join the discussion at the Debatables blog.

State Treasurer Richard Moore was first to air with a two-minute ad, unusual in a world of political spots that are 30 seconds or shorter. The ad aired during Sunday morning talk shows and showcased his top policy ideas, including cutting the dropout rate and providing health care coverage to all children in the state.

"We think this is a great way to do it because a lot of people are paying attention to what's going on in the presidential race," said Jay Reiff, Moore's campaign manager.

That ad will be available online at Moore's campaign Web site and 30-second versions will begin airing this week.

Reiff said the air time for Sunday cost $20,000 and that the campaign would spend about $200,000 a week to air commercials.

In an e-mail, Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue's campaign manager told supporters that her campaign would start airing commercials today. A campaign spokesman declined to release or show a preview of the ad before it aired. Details about Perdue's ad were not available Friday afternoon.

Richard Moore

Visuals: Moore speaks to a camera as he sits in his the living room of his farmhouse. That shot is interwoven with various scenes of Moore talking with people from different walks of life.

Included in the montage are a high school student walking outside a school, a senior citizen on her porch and what look to be professional types intensely discussing the document in front of them with Moore.

Script: "I'm Richard Moore. Soon we'll be choosing a new governor, and I want you to know why I'm running and how I'll manage our state.

"As state treasurer, I've been directly accountable to more than 700,000 public employees — teachers, police officers, you name it. They know what kind of results I've delivered, protecting their retirement and building one of the nation's strongest pension funds and making real reforms that allowed our state to invest millions more in education and health care. As governor, I will bring this same accountability to all of state government.

"Look, we all agree what the big issues are: health care, schools and creating good jobs. The big difference will be how our next governor approaches those challenges. The answer is not just spending more money and making more promises. It's about making better decisions, addressing our challenges head on and delivering results.

"My top education priority will be to cut the high school dropout rate in half by teaching real job skills and holding our schools accountable. We will build schools faster and smarter with my school construction plan, saving millions to invest in quality teachers and reduced class size.

"We will make sure every single child in North Carolina has health insurance, no excuses. We will improve the quality of health care by reducing waste and medical errors.

"And we will build roads where they're needed, not where political insiders want them. It's time to end the slush funds and stop making transportation decisions behind closed doors based on special interests.

"State government ought to spend less time studying problems and more time solving them. We need to stop pointing fingers and start pointing North Carolina in a new direction.

"To do that, requires a governor willing to make tough decisions, a governor willing to take a different approach. Starting Day 1, that's what I'll do."

Analysis: Moore and his campaign team used this two-minute ad to introduce the treasurer to people watching Sunday morning political talk shows, thought to be those more likely interested in politics. Shorter 30-second versions will be remixed and aired going forward.

The ad highlights the policy positions on which Moore hopes to build his campaign. He is expected to issue a white paper on high school dropout rates this week and has made his stewardship of the state pension fund a central theme of his campaign from the beginning.

There is no bashing of Perdue in this ad.


Contact Mark Binker at (919) 832-5549 or mark.binker@news-record.com