Katie McGinty Rolls Out First TV Ad of General Election

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Js1LOALGXzA

We’ve been following the campaign ad blitz in the race for Pennsylvania’s junior senate seat pretty closely. There was the pro-Sen. Pat Toomey ad from a conservative independent group with an atrocious depiction of a cheesesteak, and there was the anti-Toomey ad from a liberal group that had a litter box in it for some reason. Plus, there was an independent ad saying McGinty might kidnap your kids, and a web ad from the McGinty team tying Toomey to Donald Trump.

Well! Today, McGinty is unveiling the her first television ad of the general election campaign. And… it’s a standard political “intro” ad. McGinty talks about how she was one of 10 children growing up while eschewing a Just the Ten of Us reference.

There is one part of it that especially caught my eye, though.

So… who is this woman closing the trunk behind Katie McGinty? Did she just sneak into the shot? Does she have a huge family, too? It even has sound. Did the ad really need a loud trunk thud in it? Eh, maybe.

“As the ninth of ten kids and the daughter of a police officer and restaurant hostess, Katie’s working class roots shaped her values and the priorities she will fight for in the U.S. Senate,” said Sean Coit, McGinty’s communications director. “Wall Street has enough voices fighting for its interests in Washington, and Katie will be a voice working class families like hers can count on.”

McGinty’s new ad says she’s going to put middle-class families first, and plays up her working class roots. The photo of her parents basically looks like every old photo of any Northeast Philly family I’ve ever seen, so it may work.

The ad will start airing tomorrow across the state in the Harrisburg, Johnstown-Altoona, Scranton-Wilkes Barre, and Pittsburgh media markets. It won’t, however, hit the airwaves in Philly. “We’ll be on TV plenty in Philadelphia throughout this campaign,” Coit said, “and a big part of this particular ad is introducing people all around the state to Katie’s background and her values.”

Follow @dhm on Twitter.