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Framing the governor's race through ads

Posted at 5:38 PM, Sep 17, 2019
and last updated 2019-09-17 18:23:08-04

LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — With Election Day 50 days away, campaign ads for both gubernatorial candidates in Kentucky are gearing up. Experts say the topics those ads are highlighting play a strategic role in each candidate's campaign.

"What both campaigns are attempting to do is build a larger narrative here through a series of ads, communications, and they're attempting to move support in their direction through that larger narrative," says UK Political Science Professor Michael Zilis.

Experts say while Andy Beshear's ads focus on making this race about Kentucky issues, Governor Bevin's ads bring a national angle to the race.

"Bevin is signaling alignment with President Trump and President Trump's policies and attempting to take advantage of Trump's popularity in the state of Kentucky," says Zilis. "And Beshear is signaling that he doesn't want the race fought along those lines. He wants to put the focus back on Kentucky issues as opposed to policies of the national party.