Republican gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie launched his first ad of the Virginia 2017 race Thursday.
The ad will air in all Virginia markets and aims to inform voters about Gillespie’s proposed tax plan.
“Ed’s ‘Cutting Taxes for ALL Virginians’ Plan is the centerpiece of a substantive policy agenda that will spark natural, organic growth for our economy and will mean nearly $1,300 more in disposable income for the average family of four,” Campaign Manager Chris Leavitt wrote in a press release. “The ad demonstrates Ed’s commitment to putting forward bold policy proposals that will grow our economy and help create new, good paying jobs all across Virginia.”
The Gillespie campaign invested just under $21,000 through ad-buying firm Strategic Media Services in the statewide campaign, according to the Federal Communications Commission website.
The vast majority of the ad spending focused on national channels like Fox News, ABC, CNN and other entertainment channels statewide. Two smaller contracts specifically targeted the Norfolk-Virginia Beach and Southwestern portions of Virginia, two heavily conservative districts that supported Gillespie’s 2014 race.
Republican Challenger Corey Stewart strongly opposes Gillespie’s tax plan, going so far as to say that the party frontrunner is lying to the voters.
“Given that Gillespie — who is lying to the voters and can’t be trusted — doesn’t have a plan to cut out-of-control spending in Richmond, the claim that this phony tax plan will save Virginians one cent is laughable, in contrast to my tax plan, which makes an immediate 17.4 percent tax cut possible with spending cuts,” Stewart told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The plan calls for a state income tax cut that’s estimated to reduce a family’s tax burden by up to $1,300 a year, and reform the state tax code, according to Gillespie’s website.
Gillespie opposes Stewart, former chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors, and former State Sen. Frank Wagner for the Republican nomination. Democratic Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam and progressive Tom Perriello are battling in the Democratic primary.
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