The ad wars are officially underway in the race for governor.
Gov. Kathy Hochul's campaign on Tuesday unveiled her first TV and digital ads as she seeks a full term later this year — dipping into her large campaign war chest amassed over the last eight months.
Her campaign is releasing three ads altogether, part of a large, eight-figure ad buy airing statewide on digital and TV platforms.
The ads focus on Hochul's work ethic in the governor's office as well as the measures she's signed into law for gun control and school spending. The ads also provide a broad introduction to the governor for voters less than a year afer she took office following the resignation of Andrew Cuomo last August.
"Since taking office, she’s passed over 400 new bills," the ad's narrator says. "She’s cracking down on illegal guns to make our neighborhoods safer. Investing in public schools to hire more teachers and get our kids back on track."
In two 15-second digital ads, Hochul highlights an accelerated tax cut for middle-income earners and her working class roots.
Hochul's campaign has set records with its fundraising in less than a year. In January, she reported more than $21 million in donations she can unleash for both the primary and general elections.
She faces U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi and New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams in a June Democratic primary.