Andrew Cuomo yesterday unveiled the first negative ad in the governor’s race, charging that his Democratic opponent, Carl McCall, is “attacking my father, my wife and calling the campaign a street fight.”
Looking straight at the camera in an ad that hits the airwaves today, Cuomo says: “This campaign shouldn’t be about our families. It should be about yours.”
To support Cuomo’s claims, his aides referred reporters to a televised interview with Rep. Charles Rangel, a key McCall ally, who belittled Cuomo’s wife, Kerry, by saying “no one knows who she is.”
The aides also said McCall was attacking Mario Cuomo when he mocked Andrew Cuomo’s enlistment of his father in the campaign.
“If you were out in the street in a battle and you were kind of losing, you might run home to dad,” McCall told reporters last week.
With less than five weeks to go before the Sept. 10 primary, the Cuomo ad marks a shift in the campaign that has largely consisted of the two Democrats issuing noncontroversial policy statements, while Gov. Pataki has adopted a “Rose Garden” strategy highlighting his powers of incumbency following last year’s terror attack.
All three candidates – and independent Tom Golisano – have been airing biographical TV ads that focus on their lives and accomplishments.
Cuomo strategist Bill Knapp said the new 30-second ad was an “unveiling of a slogan and direction from here to Primary Day about new leadership for new times.”
“We’re drawing a line in the sand and we’re saying, ‘Come on, Carl, quit it and let’s focus on the issues,'” Knapp said of the ad, scheduled to run for the next 10 days in the New York City area.
McCall campaign manager Allen Cappelli responded to the ad dismissively, saying: “It’s sad that Andrew Cuomo has decided to launch his negative attack. Carl McCall is running a positive campaign, communicating his vision to improve our schools for all New York’s children, rebuild the economy and create opportunity for all New Yorkers. That’s what he’s always done and it’s why he’s winning this campaign.”
Cuomo pollster Mark Penn disagreed, saying “there’s been a drumbeat from them about attacking Andrew Cuomo.”
“The McCall attacks have been ad hominem. They’ve taken personal swipes that haven’t been about issues,” he added.