Two new television ads on behalf of two Republican candidates for governor will be on the air shortly.
Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson tries for humor in a spot in which he helps his teen-aged son, Thor, learn how to drive.
As Thor crashes through obstacle barrels labeled MnSure and veers around cones, Johnson compares his son’s driving to Gov. Mark Dayton’s handling of state government. “The only thing he gets right are the hard left turn,” Johnson says in the ad.
Johnson campaign manager Greg Peppin says the ad will run statewide but will be “a targeted buy.” Translation — it won’t be saturating the airwaves.
The second ad appears to be the first independent expenditures of the campaign season. Compete Minnesota has created an ad www.CompeteMN.com. on behalf of Scott Honour, airing in the Twin Cities on cable outlets and also online. Entitled, “The Difference,” the ad claims that Honour is the only gubernatorial candidate to advocate the full dismantling of MnSure and features supporters extolling Honour’s capabilities.
Compete Minnesota’s state filing shows that as of April 14, the group had more than $250,000 cash on hand, which came from three contributors. Alec Gores of the Gores Group, a private equity firm where Honour worked for several years in Los Angeles, contributed $200,000 of the total amount.