WASHINGTON U.S. Senate Republican candidate Jim Renacci unveiled his first TV commercial Friday, proclaiming he is President Donald Trump’s choice to win the GOP primary and challenge Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in November.
The 30-second commercial boasts about Renacci’s business experience involving a financial consulting business and says he created 1,500 jobs. Anyone watching the commercial would assume Renacci has spent his entire life in business, when in fact he is a four-term member of the U.S. House from Wadsworth and served as mayor of Wadsworth.
Renacci’s advisers said the commercial is being aired on statewide broadcast and cable TV. They did not say how much money they are spending on the commercial.
The White House urged Renacci to enter the Senate race, and the commercial quotes Trump at a rally saying, "Jim, get in there and fight ... We need you."
Renacci launched his commercial just one day after his opponent, Cleveland business executive Mike Gibbons, aired his first advertisement in which he said he is “not a politician” and wants to go to Washington “to get some things done.”
Appearing in a dress shirt without a tie, Gibbons tells a small group of voters, “First thing you need to know about me is that I’m not a politician. I am a businessman.”
Both Gibbons and Renacci are trying to persuade voters they are political outsiders who want to make dramatic changes in government. The winner of the race between Gibbons and Renacci will face Brown in the November campaign.
Gibbons’ advisers did not say how much money they are spending on the commercial.
In the commercial, Gibbons said he opposes earmarks, where members of Congress can insert money for special projects in their states into spending bills. House Republicans banned earmarks in 2011, although some lawmakers would like to end the ban.