Hogan TV ads praise education record

With schools opening, campaign spends $1 million

As summer break fades and students return to classes, Maryland voters settling into the grind of a new school year are being greeted on TV this week with a more than $1 million blitz of campaign ads touting Gov. Larry Hogan’s education record.

The three new campaign ads airing in rotation across the state this week demonstrate yet again the significant fundraising advantage the Republican governor has against his Democratic challenger, Ben Jealous.

Hogan has spent “more than $3.5 million in television and digital ad buys since late spring,” according to a statement from the governor’s campaign. At the end of August, Hogan saturated the state with television ads touting his claims that he has made Maryland a more affordable place to live.

Despite the pricey ad buys, the Hogan campaign reported last week that it had $9.4 million on hand as the race heads into the final weeks before the Nov. 6 election. Jealous reported having $386,000.

The Hogan campaign highlighted the difference this week when announcing its new education-focused advertising blitz.

“In contrast, the Jealous campaign nor the Maryland Democratic Party has yet to announce any general election advertising purchases despite being on the record last week saying that they would begin after Labor Day,” the Hogan campaign said in a statement.

Kevin Harris, a senior adviser to the Jealous campaign, said Wednesday that the Democratic candidate is not going to reveal his strategy by pinpointing when he plans to begin airing political ads to counter Hogan.

The focus on schools comes at an opportune time: Because of excessive heat this week, the Baltimore County Public Schools system closed eight schools and two centers that lack air conditioning on Tuesday and Wednesday while the city closed more than 60 schools three hours early for the same reason.

Both candidates seized on the issue. Hogan called the lack of air conditioning “disgraceful” and “outrageous” and blamed local school districts for failing to install cooling systems. Jealous blamed Hogan, saying the lack of air conditioning demonstrates his “failure to lead.”

Hogan’s three new ads — “Working Hard,” “Top Priority” and “Lockbox” — emphasize the Republican’s record on education funding. “Over the last four years, the Hogan administration has provided a record $25 billion in K-12 education funding, but as these ads make clear, the governor is not satisfied,” said Scott Sloofman, a Hogan campaign spokesman.

Maryland Democrats have contended that Hogan should have gone beyond the mandated levels of spending. The state’s nonpartisan Department of Legislative Services says Hogan followed the legal requirements of the state’s school funding formula. Democrats also pointed out that Hogan proposed a $68 million reduction in education funding in his first year in office and some years tried to hold inflation increases called for in the formula to 1 percent.

But Hogan has more money to present his case to voters in the three education TV ads he began rolling out Tuesday.

The first ad emphasizes his decision Tuesday to establish an Office of Education Accountability under the Governor’s Office for Children. The two other ads highlight the $25 billion in education funding during his first term and Hogan’s support for the constitutional amendment on the Nov. 6 ballot asking voters to support a so-called “lockbox” to reserve casino revenues in a fund that can only be spent on education.