Nathan Ramsey, the chairman of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, is running hard for re-election. He’s the lone Republican on a five-member board full of Democrats. His opponent is fellow board member David Gantt, who is running hard to unseat Ramsey.
Both candidates have launched television advertising. I’ve seen several Gantt ads posted on YouTube. But the most intriguing Internet ad campaign I’ve seen lately is Ramsey’s. His Internet ad, posted on the Citizen-Times web site and the Mountain Xpress web site, zooms in on a picture of a cartoon cow and asks “Are you a Demoocrat?” The ad directs the viewer to Ramsey’s campaign web site.
It’s a clever bit of advertising, because it plays on the well-known fact that Ramsey is the owner of a dairy farm. When you get to his web site, you’re greeted with a pop-up questionnaire that has little check boxes by the side of statements such as “Demoocrats vote for the person, not just the party.”
Ramsey knows he has to have the support of Democrats to win, and he’s appealing directly to them through this ad campaign. Ramsey wants mountain Democrats to know that it’s OK to vote for him.
I think the ad is another indication that the race for chairman will be super-close come November. I would think that Ramsey would have the upper hand, but if this year is shaping up to be a year for Democrats across the board, that could really boost Gantt’s chances.
Keep your eyes on this race.