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As the New Jersey gubernatorial race is tightening, according to a new poll, the RGA is out with a new TV ad Thursday.

(CNN) - The Republican Governors Association launched its latest ad slamming incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine Thursday, as a new survey suggested his GOP challenger's advantage has largely evaporated.

In a new 15-second television ad launched Thursday by the RGA, the Democratic governor is featured in 2006 footage saying "Hold me accountable."

"New Jersey's broke," an announcer then says in the ad, "Jobs are leaving. And our property taxes are the highest in the nation.

"Corzine. Taxes. Waste. Debt. Failure."

The RGA's spot was released the same day Corzine and Christie both launched their own new ads, hours before the two men and independent candidate Chris Daggett prepare to face off in the first debate of New Jersey's gubernatorial race.

Related: Corzine is 'whack,' Christie Web video says

A Monmouth University/Gannett poll released Thursday suggests Christie's edge over Corzine has shrunk to 3 percentage points among likely voters, 43 to 40 percent - an advantage that now falls within the survey's 4 point sampling error.

–CNN's Lauren Kornreich and Alexander Mooney contributed to this report.

The DNC's latest ad says the GOP is 'no friend of seniors.'

WASHINGTON (CNN) – The fight over health care got heated this summer - and the Democratic National Committee has been raising the temperature a few degrees with an incendiary assertion: that House Republicans tried earlier this year to do away with the Medicare program in its entirety.

The DNC is expanding the buy for its 30-second TV spot that cites GOP votes on a House budgetary amendment in early April of this year, and claims that "Republicans actually voted to abolish Medicare for future generations."

"The Republican Party, no friend of seniors," the ad says as it ends.
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Conservatives for Patient's Rights announced that the group will begin airing a new TV ad next Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A major player in the health care ad wars is back in the game after a recent suspension of its campaign in the wake of Sen. Ted Kennedy's death.

Conservatives for Patient's Rights will start airing "No Promises" next Tuesday as the congressional August recess ends, one day before President Obama is set to address Congress about health care.

The 30-second ad focuses on the public health insurance option, which has become a lightning rod in the debate over overhauling the nation's health care system. "Tell President Obama to drop his government-run public option plan," the end of the ad says.

Democratic proposals to make a public health insurance plan available to uninsured Americans have come under increasing attack by Republicans during the August recess. The White House is also under pressure from liberal advocacy groups to continue to push for inclusion of the public option in the final version of health care reform legislation.

The conservative group suspended its multi-million dollar ad campaign the day after Sen. Kennedy died at age 77 from brain cancer.
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The RNC continued its push to reach out to senior citizens on Tuesday with a new television ad.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – The Republican National Committee is intensifying its push to reach seniors skeptical of President Obama's health care proposal, releasing a new television ad Tuesday that targets the powerful voter bloc.

In the one-minute ad, RNC Chairman Michael Steele outlines the RNC's new "Seniors' Bill of Rights" - six policies the party says will serve as "protections" for senior citizens.

"When you disagree with Washington, how come they act like it's your problem?" Steele says. "That's what the Democrats have done with health care. They say you're the problem."

"How about a different way? A focus on things we can all agree on? I'm Michael Steele, Chairman of the Republican Party. Join us in supporting a new Seniors' Bill of Rights."

The GOP's plan repeats recent Republican calls for zero cuts to Medicare, a rule barring health care rationing based on age, and a measure that would prevent the government from playing any role in end-of-life care.

The White House has said any cuts to Medicare would target government waste, and would not affect the level of care for seniors, and independent fact-checking organizations have said claims that the proposed plan includes any provision for rationing are inaccurate.

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A conservative group that opposes President Obama's approach to health care reform said Wednesday that it is suspending its ad campaign because of Sen. Kennedy's death.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A conservative group that opposes President Obama's approach to health care reform said Wednesday that it is suspending a multi-million dollar television campaign, because of the death of Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy.

"[N]ow is a time for respect, reflection and remembrance," Rick Scott, chairman of Conservatives for Patients' Rights, said in a statement. "Senator Kennedy's lifetime of dedicated public service transcended multiple generations. His devotion to many issues and his relentless passion made him a hero to his supporters and worthy adversary to his opponents. His voice and presence will be missed."

Related: Remembering Sen. Kennedy

Scott also said Wednesday that the group knows "the debate will continue.

"A debate Senator Kennedy embraced with vigor, and we look forward to engaging in the debate in the months ahead."

Conservatives for Patients' Rights has spent more than $4 million on ads against health care reform, including a recent ad buy intended to catch the eye of President Obama who is vacationing this week on Martha's Vineyard.

During his address to the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Kennedy called health care reform "the cause of my life," and said he hoped to see legislation that would "guarantee that every American will have decent, quality health care as a fundamental right."

Related: Health care in America

The liberal advocacy group 'Americans United for Change' is running an ad on national and local cable targeting the GOP.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A liberal advocacy group is purchasing a week's worth of television advertising accusing Republicans and the insurance industry of trying to derail President Obama's efforts to reform health care.

Americans United for Change will air a 30-second TV commercial nationally on CNN and MSNBC and on local cable in the Washington, D.C. market beginning this week, spokesman Jeremy Funk tells CNN. Funk did not divulge the exact amount being spent on the commercial dubbed "Golden Parachute," but he did say it would be a "five-figure buy."

The TV ad specifically attacks retiring Cigna CEO Edward Hanway for his salary, as well as charging that the GOP prefers the status quo to reform.

The commercial comes a few days after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, vowed to aggressively campaign for health care reform and noted that Democrats would pull no punches when it came to the health insurance industry. "Facts mean nothing" to insurance industry executives and others opposed to change, she said as the House adjourned for the congressional summer recess. "Misrepresentation is the currency of their realm," she said.

The Senate is scheduled to go into recess at the end of this week.

The DNC is out with a new ad campaign that targets Republican congressional leaders.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The Democratic National Committee is again taking aim at top Republicans in Congress over their lack of support for the president's $787 billion stimulus bill, as the image war over the success of the stimulus continues to escalate.

In "Broke It," a 30-second TV spot, Sens. John Kyl of Arizona and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Reps. John Boehner of Ohio and Eric Cantor of Virginia are taken to task for opposing the Democratic stimulus plan.

"They supported the Bush policies that sank our economy into recession," an announcer says in the TV ad. "They broke it. Now they refuse to fix it."

The DNC offensive also includes radio spots targeted at Kyl, McConnell, Boehner, Cantor - all top GOP congressional leaders who have been regular targets of Democratic ads this summer attacking them over their opposition to the stimulus. Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, who chairs the House Republican Conference, is also being slammed in a radio spot.

Entitled "No Thanks," each radio ad highlights projects funded by the stimulus bill in each Republican's state or district.

"So when you see that sign that says 'this project funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act' you can say no thanks to Eric Cantor," the Virginia version of the radio ad says.

"Broke It," will air nationally on cable and in the District of Columbia area, the DNC said Wednesday in a statement announcing the new ad campaign.

The "No Thanks" radio ads will air in Phoenix, Arizona; Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky; Dayton, Ohio; Richmond, Virginia; and Indianapolis, Indiana, according to the DNC.
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The RNC released a new Web video, 'Reforma,' Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The Republican National Committee has a message for the nation's health care consumers: "Call your Congressman or Senator immediately" if you are concerned about possible "side effects" of the Democrats' health care reform proposals.

That's what viewers are told in "Reforma," a new RNC Web video that appears to draw heavily from the tropes of pharmaceutical advertising.

The roughly one-minute spot features happy-looking couples in various settings - dancing on the deck of a ship, walking barefoot along a beach, skipping through an open field of green grass, lounging comfortably in each others arms in a field of lavender plants, tossing leaves at one another on a typical fall New England day, and walking hand-in-hand down a tree-covered path.

"The life you want to live, [t]he peace of mind you deserve, [t]he Obama Pelosi prescription for building a government takeover of health care, [a]nxiety and stress disappear, [r]ecommended by more lobbyists than any other health care reform, [n]o worries. No concerns," an announcer says as the carefree images appear on screen.

Then the video, like a drug ad, lists what the RNC calls the "side effects" of the Democrats' reform plan: "bureaucratic waste and delay," "[c]ost to taxpayers may vary and is more than you can possibly imagine."

The release of "Reforma" by the RNC comes as President Obama continues to make a push for passage of health care reform legislation in both the House and the Senate in advance of the August congressional recess, and on the same day that he is set to have a primetime press conference that will likely focus on health care reform and resistance to it within his own party.

UPDATE 1:04 p.m.: Hari Sevugan, National Press Secretary for the Democratic National Committee responded to the RNC's new Web video: "[I]t shouldn't be surprising that the RNC is willing to make up facts in their attempt to 'kill' health care reform," Sevugan said in a statement Wednesday.

The RNC is out with a new ad that targets the president's push for health care reform.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele announced a new television ad campaign Monday that accuses President Obama's push to overhaul the nation's health care system as a "risky experiment," in a speech at the National Press Club.

The 30 second commercial will run in Arkansas, Nevada and North Dakota in what the RNC describes as a "large targeted television ad campaign" on the health care issue.

(Read the script of the RNC's ad and Steele's prepared remarks after the jump)

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The RNC unveiled its first ad of the cycle Wednesday that takes aim at Obama.

WASHINGTON (CNN) –- The Republican National Committee slams President Obama’s plan to reform the nation’s health care system in a new television ad that is set to air Wednesday on national cable television.

The RNC also offers thinly-veiled criticism of ABC for broadcasting a live presidential town hall meeting Wednesday on the issue of health care, but not including GOP national leaders in the event. The RNC does not name ABC, but mentions that the president will appear on a "national TV network" to discuss the issue. Republicans have accused ABC of promoting Obama's health care plan, pointing to the extensive coverage the network is giving the subject on its morning, evening and late night newscasts. The network has denied the charge.

This is the RNC's first TV ad of the 2010 election cycle. It will not release further details about the ad buy, but the script hints that it will only run on Wednesday - timed to coincide with the ABC town hall.

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The National Organization for Marriage has launched a new ad campaign in New York State.

(CNN) – The National Organization for Marriage is out with new television and radio ads in New York as the state's senate is considering legislation that would legalize same-sex marriage.

"New York Consequences," a 30-second television spot and a 60-second radio spot, focus on hypothetical consequences of recognizing same-sex unions on equal terms with traditional marriages.

"Legalizing gay marriage has consequences for kids," TV ad says. "Massachusetts schools teach second graders that boys can marry other boys. A California public school took first graders to a same-sex wedding . . . "

"The rights of people who believe marriage means a man and a woman will no longer matter. We'll all have to accept gay marriage whether we like it to or not," both ads also say.

The ads are being supported by a $100,000 ad buy in Long Island and the Albany-Schenectady area, according the National Organization for Marriage. The initial ad buy runs from May 28 through May 31, the group also said.

The New York State Assembly recently passed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in the state. New York Gov. David Paterson has said he will sign the bill if the state Senate also passes it.

The new ads end with a request for viewers and listeners to call their state senators and express their opposition to same-sex marriage.

Related: Bush v. Gore lawyers join forces to challenge California's Prop 8

Virginia bubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell will face the winner of the June 9 Democratic primary.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Republican Bob McDonnell is up with his first television ad in the Virginia governor's race, a heavily biographical 30-second spot that largely avoids the commonwealth's troubled economy and focuses instead on family values and the former state Attorney General's record combating online sex predators.

"Bob McDonnell," the ad's narrator says, over images of the Republican with his wife and family. "Character. Experience. A husband. A father. Principles molded growing up in a middle class suburban neighborhood."

The campaign purchased over $200,000 worth of airtime for the ad, which is running in nearly every major media market in Virginia except in the sprawling and expensive northern Virginia market, which encompasses the greater Washington area. However, the campaign noted that they launched a "positive new online media campaign" on Monday "with a heavy focus on northern Virginia."

Two of McDonnell's Democratic rivals - Terry McAuliffe and Creigh Deeds - have already been running television ads as they ramp up for the Democratic primary, which is less than a month away. The third Democrat in the race, Brian Moran, has not aired a TV spot.

UPDATE: The Democratic Party of Virginia responded to the ad, accusing McDonnell of failing to offer a plan to create jobs.

"When it comes to Virginia's economy, Bob McDonnell's ad is all hat and no cattle," said Democratic party spokesman Jared Leopold. "McDonnell's newest ad - like his campaign - lacks the substance that Virginians want in a governor."

The DNC released a scathing Web ad Thursday blasting Karl Rove, pictured above, for a his recent comments calling President Obama an 'arrogant guy.'

(CNN) - The Democratic National Committee is taking aim at former Bush adviser Karl Rove.

The DNC released a scathing Web ad Thursday blasting Rove for a his recent comments calling President Obama an "arrogant guy."

In a 40 second spot titled "Pot. Kettle. Black.," the DNC slammed the former presidential adviser and the policies of the Bush administration, highlighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the current national economic crisis as products of his time in office.

Watch: DNC web ad "Pot. Kettle. Black."

"Karl Rove calls Obama arrogant – really," the text on screen shows.

"Karl, Did You Forget ..."

Statements such as: "mission accomplished, we'll be greeted as liberators, Bin Laden: dead or alive," and "two unfinished wars," and "worst economic crisis in decades" were sandwiched between sound bites of Rove saying "I've always said I think he's kind of an arrogant guy."

"Pot. Kettle. Black.," the text reads as the ad closes.

The 30 second spot touts the president's plans to cut the deficit and create jobs through investment in health care, energy independence, and schools.

(CNN) – Organizing for America highlighted its grassroots canvassers in an ad released Thursday, urging supporters to call Congress to support President Obama's budget.

The 30 second spot touts the president's plans to cut the deficit and create jobs through investment in health care, energy independence, and schools.

Watch: OFA ad "Door to Door"

"Thousands are going door-to-door as part of Organizing for America, gathering support for President Obama's plan to invest in America's future," says the narrator.

"You can help too. Call Congress and tell them to support President Obama's budget plan to get our economy moving again."

Organizing for America, the post-election incarnation of Obama's grassroots campaign army, is currently an arm the Democratic National Committee.

Obama is running a second Indiana ad making his case against a gas tax holiday.

(CNN) – The Obama campaign released another Indiana response ad Friday to a Hillary Clinton spot that takes aim at his opposition to a gas tax holiday.

“Pennies” – his second ad on the issue - includes quotes from critics who accuse the Clinton campaign of “political pandering.”

On a Thursday conference call with reporters, Clinton senior adviser Geoff Garin said that internal polling suggested her proposal was resonating with primary voters reeling from the impact of rising gas prices.

(Full script follows after the jump)

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Clinton is out with a critical ad in Indiana and North Carolina.

(CNN) - Hillary Clinton launched a new ad in North Carolina and Indiana Tuesday that directly criticizes Barack Obama’s proposals to address the explosion in home foreclosures and rising gas costs.

The negative spot comes a week before both states’ crucial May 6 primaries and specifically attacks Obama for not calling for a freeze on mortgage foreclosures and not supporting a suspension of the gas tax.

Clinton has called for a 90-day moratorium on home foreclosures and $30 billion for an Emergency Housing Fund. Obama has called for a $10 billion foreclosure prevention fund to help homeowners who are victims of mortgage fraud sell their homes or modify their loans, to avoid foreclosure and bankruptcy.

In response to rising gas costs, both McCain and Clinton have called for a suspension of the gas tax ahead of the summer driving season. McCain's plan would lift the 18.4 cents per gallon tax during peak summer travel months and would suspend the 24.4 cent diesel tax.

Clinton, who rejected a similar idea in 2000, said her plan is different from McCain's, claiming his proposal would cost the government up to $10 billion that would otherwise be used to improve roads. Clinton has said she'd make up for the lost revenue with a "windfall profits tax" on oil companies, meaning their profits over a certain amount would be subject to a 50 percent tax.

Obama does not support a suspension of the gas tax, which he described as a political scheme that would save the average driver $25 to $28. He's instead proposing a tax on oil companies to help low-income families pay energy bills.

"It’s time for a president who’s ready to take action now," the ad's announcer states.

(Full ad script after the jump)

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Dean said the DNC is pressing forward with its ad buy.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – The Republican National Committee said Monday it is asking cable networks not to air what they described as a “maliciously false” ad about John McCain from the Democratic National Committee – and accused Democrats of illegally coordinating efforts with the party’s presidential candidates.

The RNC said the ad was in legal violation because its content was misleading. Asked about the prospect of legal action from Republicans in a conference call late Monday afternoon, DNC Chairman Howard Dean responded: “Let them do it.”

The 30-second spot, slated to run on CNN and on MSNBC, highlights McCain’s comment that it would be acceptable if U.S. troops remained in Iraq for 100 years. McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, was talking about a peace-keeping mission, not active conflict.

"This is a complaint about the facts that are being misrepresented in this ad," said RNC general counsel Sean Cairncross. "Based on this being a deliberate falsehood. We are saying to the stations, 'You have an obligation.'

The complaint did not alter CNN's original plans. “We have received the letter from the RNC. We plan on airing the ad beginning tomorrow,” the network said in a statement released Monday afternoon.

On a conference call this afternoon, RNC officials accused the DNC of working in concert with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, because they met and used many of the same consultants. The GOP officials, though, refused to pledge not to run similar ads against the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

The new ad is Clinton’s second negative spot this week.

(CNN) - Hillary Clinton’s campaign debuted a new 30-second television spot Tuesday that accuses Barack Obama of accepting donations from energy executives and supporting the Bush-Cheney energy bill – as the Illinois senator’s campaign unveiled a new mailer and Web ad that says she has accepted more lobbyist money than any other candidate.

“Every gallon of gas takes over three bucks from your pocket,” says the announcer in the new Clinton ad, ‘Pocket.’ “But Obama voted for the Bush-Cheney energy bill that put $6 billion in the pocket of big oil. Hillary voted against it….”

The new Obama mailer and Web ad make many of the same charges against the New York senator. "Clinton has taken money from lobbyists for oil companies, drug companies and insurance companies,” says the Pennsylvania mailer. “She says they represent ‘real people.’ Do they represent you?"

Clinton and Obama have traded negative ads this week.

(CNN) – Less than a day after Hillary Clinton’s campaign released an ad that said voters were “insulted” by Barack Obama’s recent remarks about some small-town Americans, the Illinois senator’s campaign released a new Pennsylvania spot Tuesday that says people are “rejecting Hillary Clinton’s attacks.”

The 30-second ad opens with some members of a Pennsylvania crowd reacting badly to Clinton in Pittsburgh Monday when she said “I know that many of you, like me… were disappointed by recent remarks that [Obama] made.”

Says an announcer, “There's a reason people are rejecting Hillary Clinton's attacks. Because the same old Washington politics won't lower the price of gas or help our struggling economy. Barack Obama will represent all Americans. He offers a new approach….”

Obama himself adds: “When we get past the politics of division and distraction and we start actually focusing on what we have in common, there's nothing we can't accomplish…”

Watch Sen. Clinton's new ad, "Pennsylvania."

(CNN) - Hillary Clinton’s campaign released a tough new ad Monday that features the reactions of some of her Pennsylvania supporters who say they were “insulted” by Barack Obama’s controversial recent comments about some small-town Americans.

The 30-second spot – which echoes several days of similar criticism from Clinton and her campaign - features a diverse group of voters reacting to Obama’s comments a week ago that some of the state’s residents were “bitter” and turning to guns and religion because of economic pressures.

Full script follows:

Woman 1: I was very insulted by Barack Obama.

Man 1: It just shows how out of touch Barack Obama is.

Woman 2: I'm not clinging to my faith out of frustration and bitterness. I find that my faith is very uplifting.

Man 2: The good people of Pennsylvania deserve a lot better than what Barack Obama said.

Woman 1: Hillary does understand the citizens of Pennsylvania better.

Woman 3: Hillary Clinton has been fighting for people like us her whole life.