SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Gov. Gary Herbert said Wednesday his campaign will spend about $1 million on advertising this fall with his first commercials hitting the airwaves this week.
Herbert is beginning to air a series of commercials designed to help the public get to know him ahead of his first election at the top of the GOP ticket. Herbert took office last summer when former Gov. Jon Huntsman resigned to become U.S. ambassador to China.
Herbert faces Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon in a special election to fill out the remainder of Huntsman’s term and is heavily favored to win. A Democrat hasn’t won a gubernatorial race in this highly conservative state since 1980 and recent polls show Corroon trailing by about 30 percentage points.
Corroon began airing commercials a few weeks ago touting his record as a bipartisan fiscal conservative, hoping to bolster support in suburban and rural counties where he isn’t well known. Financial disclosure reports show Corroon — who has raised about $700,000 less than Herbert — has already spent about $240,000 on advertising.
Herbert had previously served as Huntsman’s lieutenant governor, which made him responsible for administering elections. It also is a position that largely kept him out of the public spotlight since the pair were first elected in 2004.
The ad campaign unveiled Wednesday focuses on Herbert’s philosophy on governing rather than on any specific proposals.
Herbert doesn’t speak in any of the television commercials, instead relying on fellow Republicans to sing his praises.
One ad featuring GOP Sen. Howard Stephenson mentions that Herbert said he opposed new taxes, but it fails to mention Herbert didn’t veto a tobacco tax increase.
Herbert maintains that he didn’t raise the tobacco tax because he didn’t sign the bill into law, although by failing to act the increase automatically became law. The tax increase was also built into the budget he signed into law.
“I did not raise the tax on tobacco,” Herbert told reporters Wednesday. “It was not something I proposed and fought for. It’s something I inherited as the Legislature does create the budget, like it or not.”
Herbert said he didn’t veto the tax increase because it was designed to help prevent cuts in public education funding. Utah already spends less per student than any other state and has the nation’s largest class sizes.
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