Today’s Political Ad Watch: Brown, Crist and Meek

Now that we’re past Labor Day, a number of candidates have started spending big money on ad buys selling their biographies and touting their accomplishments. In California, former governor and current gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown (D) has finally made his first ad purchase of his general election campaign against Meg Whitman (R), while in Florida, Senate candidates Rep. Kendrick Meek (D) and Gov. Charlie Crist (I) have released dueling ads.

For Brown, the purchase is significant because while Whitman has spent at least $104 million of her own money on the race (both the primary and the general), Brown has held on to basically all of the approximately $23 million at his disposal. As his poll numbers have slipped (a Survey USA poll now has him down by seven points), some Democrats have feared that he’s allowed Whitman to define him as a free spending liberal with a failed track record in California. His current ad, which advertises his fiscal record as governor from 1974-1982, is the first attempt of the Brown campaign to turn that narrative on its head:

Meanwhile, in Florida, Crist has an ad that’s broad in its appeal to independent voters but short on specific policy proposals or accomplishments. Meek, on the other hand, is continuing his quest to convince voters he’s the only liberal voice in a race he hopes to steal by letting Crist and Rubio split the conservative vote. Here’s Crist:

And here’s Meek: