AdWatch: Crapo’s final ad tries to stir voters to turn out

Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo has launched his final campaign commercial of the season, focusing on stirring images and broad themes to stress the importance of the upcoming election.

“So much is on the line: The presidency, the Senate, the direction of the Supreme Court and protecting the Constitution as written,” the ad says.

Crapo uses the ad to hit on general themes he’s long stressed, from support for balancing the federal budget to opposition to Obamacare.

“That’s the traditional conservative orthodoxy that has informed his voting record since the beginning,” said Jim Weatherby, Boise State University professor emeritus.

Overall, Weatherby said, “It’s an appeal, indirectly, to the voter to get out to vote. Given all the negativity at the top of the ticket with Clinton and Trump, I’m sure every candidate needs to be concerned about turnout. … People may be turned off by the vitriol at the top of the ticket and not turn out, or not vote in a lot of down-ballot races.”

Crapo is seeking a fourth six-year term in the U.S. Senate, after earlier serving three terms in the U.S. House. He faces a challenge from Boise attorney Jerry Sturgill; also in the race is Constitution Party candidate Ray Writz of Coeur d’Alene.

Crapo has run four campaign commercials over the course of his campaign this fall, starting with one focusing on the federal debt. That was followed by two that stressed his office’s constituent service efforts, one for an Idaho lumber mill owner and the other for an Idaho veteran. After the veteran ad launched, Crapo revised it to alternate his own statements on the need to assist veterans with comments from the veteran featured in the ad, Dan Pugmire.