The Journal Gazette, 600 W. Main St., Fort Wayne IN

INDIANAPOLIS – Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Jim Schellinger beat his opponents to the airwaves last week, going up on television with the race’s first ads in mid-March.

Residents in the Indianapolis and South Bend areas were first to see them, but the campaign promises to go statewide within a few weeks. The television ad has begun to air in Fort Wayne.

“It’s important to be up first because we need to make sure voters know who our candidate is,” said Robert Kellar, communications director for the Schellinger campaign. “Often, people will be open to your ideas and policies, but they need to know who you are first.”

That’s why the campaign started with a basic biographical introduction of Schellinger. It uses family photos and sports memorabilia to tell the story of Schellinger growing up in South Bend, the sixth of eight kids, in a working-class home. He then worked his way through college and built a successful architecture firm.

Later, the ad shows Schellinger participating in meetings and walking a factory floor with a worker. It ends with the tagline “leadership that’s like us.”

Annual campaign finance reports filed in January showed Schellinger with a sizable money lead over fellow Democrat Jill Long Thompson – $1.8 million on hand compared with $436,000. Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels dwarfs them both with $6.7 million on hand.

Jeff Harris, communications director for Long Thompson, said she hasn’t started television ads yet because early polling shows she is ahead of Schellinger in name recognition.

“Hoosiers are just beginning to pay attention,” he said. “We’re comfortable with our ability to wait and feel once we go up on television, we’ll be able to sustain our lead.”

Four years ago, Daniels went on television first with an unprecedented January start. But he was a first-time candidate with a primary election opponent. Now, he is an incumbent with plenty of name recognition – both positive and negative.

According to a February poll by SurveyUSA, 45 percent of Hoosiers polled approved of Daniels while 48 percent disapproved. But this was before the legislature passed much of Daniels’ property tax relief program.

“We’ll start at the appropriate time now that the legislative session is over,” said Cam Savage, spokesman for the Daniels campaign.

There has been little media focus so far on the governor’s race. But now that lawmakers have adjourned, it’s up to Schellinger and Long Thompson to distinguish themselves.

That’s no small task anytime but is especially difficult now that Indiana is in the middle of a presidential primary fight for the first time in decades.

Sen. Barack Obama visited Indiana on Saturday. In response, Sen. Hillary Clinton and former President Clinton are hitting six Indiana cities this week.

Both Obama and Hillary Clinton will likely be back as they campaign vigorously for Indiana’s 72 Democratic delegates between now and the May 6 primary.

Kellar said the Schellinger campaign isn’t concerned about the governor’s race being lost in the hype.

“To be perfectly honest, we’re excited about it,” he said. “Typically it’s difficult in primaries getting people to come out and vote. That is not going to be a problem this year.”

Andy Downs, director of the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, said the candidates for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination will have to compete harder for attention.

But their biggest challenge is a shift in strategy. Usually, he said, the way to win is to identify your most likely voters. But far more people are going to vote this year, which means the candidates can’t focus solely on loyal Democrats.

“They need to campaign to a broader audience, which in some respects is a good trial run for November,” Downs said.

This could mean increased costs for mailers, and television space could get more competitive.

The candidates are still fundraising and often file supplemental reports listing donations of $1,000 or more.

For instance, Long Thompson recently brought in $200,000 from Emily’s List, a Washington, D.C., group that supports Democratic women who are abortion-rights proponents and running for Congress or governor.

And Daniels recently received a $150,000 donation from the Republican Governors Association political action committee.

Meanwhile, Schellinger has received just two supplemental donations since the normal January report – $12,000 from Mark Langdon in Muncie and $30,000 from business partner Alan Tucker.

nkelly@jg.net