As Election Day draws nearer, some campaigns are putting the kids front and center. Two new ads from Republican Senate candidate Marco Rubio of Florida and Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet from Colorado feature the respective candidates’ children as they appeal for votes.
Rubio’s ad shows his four children sitting on a doorstep. ‘I’m Amanda Rubio,” says the candidate’s oldest daughter. “You’ve heard our dad talk about America…so we thought we’d tell you about him.” The cuteness then almost becomes overwhelming as the children list things their dad believes in — like early bedtimes and no running in the house.
“Dad says changing Washington is tough,” says Amanda. “But if he can handle us, Washington better look out!”
Rubio has a comfortable lead over his two opponents – Gov. Charlie Crist who is running as an independent, and Democratic Rep. Kendrick Meek.
Bennet’s ad, titled “Get Out the Vote Today,” features his three daughters — who all look to be under the age of ten — working the phones from the kitchen table, encouraging people to vote for their dad.
“The Bennet girls are working hard to get out the vote for their dad, Michael Bennet,” says the ad’s narrator. It then shows the girls making signs, putting up bumper stickers, even pulling an elderly citizen to the polls in a red wagon.
The ad was preceded by a campaign letter, supposedly written by “Halina, age 9,” to encourage early voters to vote for her dad.
“My dad has been working hard for Colorado in the Senate and we’ve been helping him with his campaign for a long time” said the letter. “We wanted to help our dad get as many votes as possible so we just made a new TV ad for him.”
The letter closes with, “Please vote for our dad because he’s the best!”
But appealing to the warm, fuzzy areas of Colorado voters’ hearts by promoting his children isn’t anything new for the Bennet campaign.
In a fundraising letter dated October 23, Bennet’s wife used an anecdote involving their oldest daughter as a way to ask for money.
“If you’ve been to a campaign event lately, then you’ve probably heard Michael and I promised our three girls that we’d get them a puppy when the election is over,” read the letter.
“Finally, one day Michael asked our 11-year old, Caroline ‘What would you do if we didn’t get a puppy?’ Without skipping a beat she shot back: ‘I’d run a negative TV ad about you.’ As funny as her answer is, it’s also a sad commentary on the state of our politics.”
Bennet has been in a tough race this cycle against Republican challenger Ken Buck. The latest Rasmussen poll shows the two candidates in a virtual tie, with Ken Buck narrowly leading with 47 percent of likely voters. Bennet is only behind two points, at 45 percent.
This is the first time Bennet has campaigned for office. He was appointed to the Senate seat last year when Ken Salazar vacated the position to become President Obama’s Secretary of the Interior. As this race is still a toss-up, only time will tell if the smiling faces and pleas of Bennet’s children will be enough to put him over the top.
WATCH: Rubio ad
WATCH: Bennet ad
