Haslam launches TV spot

Watch the ad here.

NASHVILLE - Republican gubernatorial hopeful Bill Haslam kicks off his statewide television advertising campaign on Friday with a spot that portrays him as a hard-working, successful businessman who listens, knows how to create jobs and has made government work successfully as Knoxville's mayor.

"Bill Haslam helped create more than 11,000 jobs," says the 60-second introductory biography spot, alluding to his work with his family's national chain of truck stops, Pilot Corp. "In tough economic times he was elected mayor of Knoxville. Bill went knocking door to door, asking citizens for advice. Balanced budget, cut the right costs, recruited jobs and made the city strong again."

Mr. Haslam himself doesn't say a word in the ad, produced by Strategic Perception Inc.

Haslam campaign consultant Tom Ingram declined to say how much the campaign is spending to run the ad on broadcast and cable networks. The mayor, who had some $4.22 million on hand as of Jan. 15, leads the GOP field in fundraising and is getting to television first.

Mr. Ingram said polls do not show the mayor behind. He said he is "very comfortable with where we are right now in terms of (name identificiation) and in terms of positions. The truth of the matter is, and you don't have to read a poll to know this, nobody knows any of these guys very well right now, which is one of the reasons we want to introduce (him) early."

Public records show about $110,000 is being spent on the television ads in the Chattanooga area.

Other candidates have nowhere near the money the Haslam campaign does, records show.

One of Mr. Haslam's rivals, U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., said Mr. Haslam "can spend whatever he wants out of the family fortune to help his campaign, but he needs to know that this governor's race is not for sale this year."

His campaign also claimed the Haslam campaign made a much larger ad buy in response to the congressman's winning of a non-binding straw poll among GOP activists in Jackson, Tenn., over the weekend.

Mr. Ingram retorted that, "you know Zach's 'facts' have been so wrong about this they're silly. So I wouldn't rely on him as a source."

"You don't buy elections," Mr. Ingram said. "That's been proven well over the years. You have to earn elections and the voters make up their decisions, not silly press releases that make up facts."

Mr. Haslam, meanwhile, announced he will begin a three-week-long "jobs tour" on March 10, "intensifying" his effort to identify promising practices and opportunities or private sector job creation.

Rep. Wamp, meanwhile, announced a series of fundraisers in March and April, headlined by country music and Christian music stars who are supporting him.

Recording artists lending him their time and talent include Larry Gatlin, The Oak Ridge Boys, John Rich, Michael W. Smith, T.G. Sheppard, Paul Overstreet and the Christian band Casting Crowns.

"We may never have the most money in this campaign, but thanks to the support of so many, we will soon have enough money to win," U.S. Rep. Wamp said.

The schedule is:

* March 1. Nashville. John Rich, Paul Overstreet and friends

* March 8. Hendersonville. The Oak Ridge Boys, T.G. Sheppard and friends

* March 15. Memphis. Larry Gatlin, John Rich and friends

* March 22. Knoxville. Larry Gatlin & friends

* March 29. Chattanooga. Casting Crowns and friends

* April 19. Franklin. Michael W. Smith and friends

The congressman faces Mr. Haslam, Shelby County District Attorney Bill Gibbons and Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville, in the Republicans' August primary.

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