It’s a political ad medley as PAC’s anti-Moulton spot joins the crowded airwaves

It may seem like there’s not that much buzz around the upcoming state primary — at least until you pop on the morning news for the traffic report or sit down in the evening to catch a Jeopardy! rerun. 

Leave the TV on for less than the length of a half-hour sitcom and you might get the sense that your program of choice is just there to knit together the various campaign ads. Bernie Sanders talking up Ed Markey. Dan Koh playing with his kids. Patrick Roath walking around the district he wants to represent. Even, every now and then, a stray New Hampshire candidate on a motorcycle. 

Campaigns and outside groups are putting up serious cash to get their messages before voters. And in many of them, money is the message, whether it’s the state’s high cost of living or a candidate’s personal finances. 

This cycle’s big self-funders, Republican Mike Minogue for governor (who’s put more than $15 million into his own campaign) and Democrat John Beccia in the Sixth Congressional District (about $3 million of his own money) are on air this week with ads that hone in on affordability. 

An ad dropping today from the pro-Markey Commonwealth Together PAC takes a different spin on the money theme. The 30-second spot, which the labor-backed PAC says is the fourth in a multi-million dollar campaign, goes after Congressman Seth Moulton for his investments in defense-related private companies webAI, Oura and Divergent.

It shows stacks of cash piling up behind Moulton while a female narrator tells viewers that “as those companies get rich off Trump’s reckless wars, so does Seth Moulton.” 

George Bachrach, Commonwealth Together’s senior advisor and former president of the Environmental League of Massachusetts, said in a statement that the stocks shooting up in value while the companies pursued defense contracts and Moulton served on the House Armed Services Committee is “exactly the type of dirty dealing Americans hate about Washington.”

If that sounds familiar, it’s a theme that Markey hammered in last week’s debate. While Markey called Moulton’s investments wrong and said he should divest, Moulton labeled it "sexist" for Markey to imply “these investments are due to my job and not my wife's success." He said he’s followed all laws and ethics rules.

Moulton leans into the family angle with his own new ad on TV this week, featuring homey shots of the congressman in the kitchen prepping for a meal with his parents, wife, kids, brother and his brother's partner. Moulton says they’re the reason "why we can't wait to tax the oligarchs, abolish ICE, pass healthcare for all,” adding, “the old way isn’t working.”

The two ads present very different vibes, setting viewers up for the kind of commercial-break whiplash that only comes in the lead-up to an election. 

Whose ads are all over your airwaves? And have any swayed your vote? Be my TV guide: [email protected].

9:00 | WCAI-FM hosts debate between Democratic primary candidates for Cape and Islands district attorney, incumbent DA Rob Galibois and challenger Michael Giardino, on its public affairs program, The Point. | WCAI 90.1 | WNAN 91.1 | WZAI 94.3

9:30 | Lt. Gov. Driscoll and Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper celebrate over $45 million in climate resilience investments as part of the first round of ECO One Stop grant awards | Fort Pickering at Winter Island Park, 50 Winter Island Rd., Salem

10:00 | Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley and Agricultural Resources Commissioner Ashley Randle participate in a discussion at Everett Community Growers as part of Urban Agriculture Week | 80 Tremont St., Everett

10:00 | Cannabis Control Commission holds a public meeting | 2 Washington Sq., Worcester | Access and More Info

11:00 | House meets in an informal session | House Chamber

11:00 | Senate meets and could vote to engross a bill (H 5491) to tighten regulations around hot works like welding, cutting, brazing or other flame-producing operations | Senate Chamber

12:00 | Congressman Jake Auchincloss is on GBH News' Boston Public Radio | GBH 89.7 FM

2:00 | Congresswoman Lori Trahan holds kickoff of Abside Networks' expanded facility and in-house manufacturing line, aided by a $46.8 million CHIPS and Science Act grant through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund | 100 Discovery Way, Suite 200, Acton

2:00 | Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer announces appointment of the state's first statewide Heat Resilience Officer | Shaich Family Alumni and Student Engagement Center (ASEC), Clark University, 939 Main Street, Worcester

7:00 | Congressman Stephen Lynch and challenger Patrick Roath participate in a candidate forum hosted by the League of Women's Voters of Hingham | Chapman Middle School Auditorium, 1051 Commercial St., Weymouth | More Info

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